Peruphasma schultei

This species is also called Black Beauty, because of its more beautiful dark color. Particularly characteristic are the small red wings that adults develop.

Appearance

This species is black with yellow eyes, and when mature it has small red wings.
There is little difference between the males and females, only the females are about 7 cm long and the males are slightly smaller at 5 cm.

Behavior

This kind of stick insect is very fast. Especially in the evening, they sometimes want to run fast when opening the enclosure. During the day they hide between the leaves. When handled roughly, this type of stick insect can secrete an irritating fluid. This substance is harmless, but irritates eyes and nose for a short time. It is therefore advisable not to let children handle the animals themselves, because they can sometimes be quite rough.

Food 

This species eats privet leaves. Privet is evergreen and is often used as a hedge plant. This plant can often be found in gardens in the city. The privet branches are easy to cut. Cut them diagonally and place them in a pot of water and they will continue to grow. The black beauties are not big eaters, so you don't need too much leaf.

Environmental requirements

Room temperature is fine for these animals, a temperature between 20 and 25 degrees Celsius.
This species needs a humidity of about 40 – 60%. This is achieved by spraying approximately twice a week. Keeping it too wet can cause infections. You can ideally measure this with the 2in1 meters available on our site (with or without sensor).

Housing

As with all stick insect species, the species requires an enclosure that is at least 3x the animal's length high, and at least 2x the animal's length wide. For an adult female this means at least 18 cm high and 10 cm wide, so larger is of course also possible. On our site you will also find a special insect terrarium with a good ventilation strip at the top and sliding window at the front.

Reproduction

The males and females can be distinguished from each other by their size. Females are thicker and broader and are much larger than the males. You can just keep them together in a cage, when they are ready to mate they will do so automatically. The eggs are round black balls. The eggs hatch after 4 á 5 months out. Store the eggs on a damp piece of paper. This should remain moist but not really wet. Beware of mold!