Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • - [Narrator] This is the Black Beauty Stick insect.

  • A rare bug found only in a tiny 12 acre area,

  • high in the remote mountains of Northern Peru.

  • (upbeat music)

  • Discovered in 2005,

  • the Black Beauty Stick Insect has a velvet black body

  • covered in small bristles.

  • The only other colors

  • on its body are its piercing golden yellow eyes

  • and it's bright red wings.

  • Not much is known about this species,

  • but scientists have observed it to be most active at night,

  • when its deep black coloration,

  • keeps it hidden from predators.

  • In addition to its powerful nighttime camouflage,

  • the Black Beauty Stick Insect is armed

  • with a gland at the rear of its head,

  • and when threatened,

  • can spray a coercive, strong smelling substance

  • at its attacker.

  • Because their natural habitat is so small,

  • the Black Beauty Stick Insect's survival is precarious.

  • And because of its striking features,

  • they have become a popular insect in the pet trade.

  • Luckily, due to successful captive breeding efforts,

  • this particular threat may be on the decline.

  • This is the Black Beauty Stick Insect.

  • (upbeat music)

  • (tinkly music)

- [Narrator] This is the Black Beauty Stick insect.

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it