Acanthoxyla inermis
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Acanthoxyla inermis (the unarmed stick insect) is an insect that was described by John Salmon in 1955. Acanthoxyla inermis is included in the genus Acanthoxyla, and family Phasmatidae. No subspecies are listed. This species is native to New Zealand but has been unintentionally moved to Great Britain where it has grown a stable population and is the longest insect observed in the UK, and the most common of the stick insects that have established themselves on the island.
A. inermis has a long thin body and three pairs of thin jointed limbs resembling twigs. The species has been observed as having many superficial differences in appearance among individuals: The body colour and texture is varied and is many shades green, brown or yellow. Adult members of this species can grow to 10 cm long. The bodies of this genus are sometimes covered in spines while other specimens have perfectly smooth bodies and others still have a series of tubercles.
Acanthoxyla inermis, like other stick insects is very well camouflaged for its habitat. The long thin body is very hard to make out from real sticks which provides these insects with a way to hide in plain sight... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auckland | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Unarmed Stick-Insect sighting in Auckland on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 618th most-seen of the 689 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Unarmed Stick-Insect in Auckland on a given day, against under 5% in February to December, the lowest months.
Only Auckland, in our data
Auckland is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Unarmed Stick-Insect sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Unarmed Stick-Insect is recorded against all the insects logged in Auckland (5 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
