About the Prickly Haaniella
Haaniella echinata is a stick insect species that is native to the entire north of Borneo. After Haaniella scabra, it is the representative of the genus Haaniella that inhabits the highest biotopes on Borneo. Like all members of this genus, both sexes of Haaniella echinata also have many sharp spines on the head. In this species, too, both pairs of wings are shortened, with the forewings, which are developed as tegmina, completely covering the hindwings, which have been converted into stridulation organs. The characteristics that make this species unmistakable include the bright turquoise-blue interarticular membranes on the coxae and between the first sternites of the abdomen, which can already be found in the newly hatched nymph. They form a clear contrast to the underside of the hind coxae and the femurs of the hind legs, which is often clearly colored red, especially in the nymphs. In adults, these areas are usually only colored reddish brown or orange. In adult males, the turquoise blue sometimes gives way to turquoise green.
The females reach a body length of 9 to 13.5 centimetres (3.5 to 5.3 in). They are thus hardly smaller than the largest Haaniella species... Wikipedia →