Chilean Chinchemolles: the elegant phasmatid, Agathemera elegans

 

A gorgeous female chinchemolle unabashedly dines on herbaceous plants growing along a rushing stream fed by snowmelt from Villarrica volcano.

 

Living fossils from the time dinosaurs roamed the earth, threatened Araucaria trees are the national tree of Chile.

With outdoor insect activity still agonizingly slow here in the DMV, it’s time to jump on a plane and escape the chilly rains of Maryland’s winter and discover fascinating and beautiful insects in warmer parts of the world. Let’s head some 5,000 miles south to the base of the Villarrica volcano near Pucón, Chile. In a Jurassic Park-like setting, ancient Gondwanan trees such as Nothofagus and Araucaria cling to hillsides. Here along a rushing river at the base of the volcano we discovered the giant elegant phasmatid, locally known as the chinchemolle, unabashedly grazing on clover and other herbaceous plants lining the stream bank. In previous episodes we met cryptic phasmatids from Costa Rica, Vietnam, Australia, Florida, and Maryland doing their best to look like twigs or dead leaves as they hid their somewhat long gangly bodies from the hungry eyes of predators. Unlike their shy cousins, this monster of the insect world does not attempt to hide from its predators. Oh no, just the opposite. These gaudy herbivores visually warn their enemies not to mess with them lest they risk a nasty surprise. The striking adult male elegant walking stick bedazzles onlookers with brilliant scarlet bands encircling its jet black body. White splotches at the leg joints complete a “look” designed to catch a vertebrate’s attention. The female chinchemolle, while more subtly adorned, is also striking in appearance with her army-green body ringed with orange bands.

Whether it’s a dash on a riverbank or dining on tender leaves, striking coloration of the male chinchemolle warns predators not to mess with him. Notice the opening to the secretory gland just behind its head. Defensive fluid discharged from this opening thwarts attacks by hungry predators.

Slopes of the Villarrica volcano in Chile are home to the giant elegant phasmatid.

While most other members of the walking stick clan try to avoid predators by mimicking plant parts and moving very slowly, these brightly colored active ground dwellers have another trick up their sleeve - or should we say, behind their head? The first segment of the thorax bears two openings leading to large secretory glands just beneath the exoskeleton of the insect. These glands produce a highly irritating, noxious ketone that can be squirted into the face of an attacking bird, lizard, or mammal. In fact, there are reports of serious eye injury to humans who looked just a little too closely at Floridian walking sticks we met in a previous episode and were rewarded with a squirt in the face. One scientific report declares that local residents of Chile know better than to challenge the chinchemolle to a stare-down, lest they risk the peril of pain and temporary blindness. However, a Bug Guy from North America could not resist handling the chinchemolle and when I stared into the eyes of the large phasmatid, it only stared back. If I wasn’t certain that insects lack eyelids, I could have sworn that it gave me a wink.     

References

Bug of the Week thanks Dr. Audrey Grez of the University of Chile for identifying the chinchemolle and providing the inspiration for this episode. The following references were used in preparation of this episode: “4-Methyl-1-hepten-3-one, the Defensive Compound from Agathemera elegans (Philippi) (Phasmatidae) Insecta” by Guillermo Schmeda-Hirschmann, and “Defensive spray of a phasmid insect” by Thomas Eisner.