Breeding Stick Insects (Phasmids)

Breeding is very easy. Stick insects can be kept comunally, which is a plus for breeding, as they will just mate when they are ready. Some females will flick their eggs, and some some female will bury their eggs. You can typically find out which species bury their eggs, if they have a point spine on the bottom of their abdomen (called an ovipositor). For these species, you will need to provide a tub of soil, or sand, which she will bury her ovipositor in. If you do not provide a laying substrate, sometimes they can die of eggbinding. When the eggs have been laid, you can just collect the eggs from the substrate and and repot them in the same conditions. With eggs that have just been flicked across the tank, these do not need to be buried, but just place on a moist substrate to incubate. The eggs will take between 2 weeks and a year to hatch, the easier species generally taking less time.