Tisamenus lachesis

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Tisamenus lachesis is a stick insect from the Philippines. It is native to Luzon, Samar and Polillo islands.

Classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Class: Insecta
- Order: Phasmatodea
- Family: Heteropterygidae
- Genus: Tisamenus
- Species: T. lachesis
- Binomial name: Tisamenus lachesis
- Synonym: Hoploclonia lachesis

What it looks like
- Males are about 4.2–5.1 cm long; females are about 6.0–6.2 cm.
- They are spiny, with sharp spines on the back of the body.
- The male has a long triangle shape on the upper body; the female’s triangle is similar but the spines are shorter.
- Males start reddish-brown and get darker with age; females are more varied in color and pattern, often brown with light beige and black markings when young.
- Both sexes have many spines on the head, thorax, and abdomen. Females have a short ovipositor at the end of the abdomen.

Where they live
- They are found on ground-covering plants up to about 20 cm high.
- They lay eggs in the ground.

Eggs and young
- Eggs are about 5.1 mm long and 2.8 mm high, brown and hairy.
- The lid sits at about a 20° angle.
- The micropylar plate forms an inverted Y.
- Nymphs hatch at about 15 mm long, slender and brown.
- Males stay slender and change color as they molt; females become broader and more varied in color as they grow.
- Adults can live for more than a year.

History and classification
- The species was described in 1939 by Rehn & Rehn as Hoploclonia lachesis, placed in a group with very spiny, elongated species.
- For a long time, it was known from only a single male.
- In 2004, scientists moved it to the genus Tisamenus. Later, genetic studies showed relationships were different from early assumptions.
- In 2025, it was clarified that many breeding stocks once called Tisamenus serratorius are actually T. lachesis.

Breeding in captivity
- Keeping and breeding T. lachesis is considered easy.
- They eat a variety of plants, such as bramble, hazel, firethorn, ivy and Hypericum.
- They need small, moderately moist terrariums with soil for laying eggs.

Summary
Tisamenus lachesis is a spiny Philippine stick insect, found on Luzon, Samar and Polillo. It was once misclassified, but today is recognized as a distinct species with a rich history of study and a straightforward care in captivity.