Clitarchus Stål
This genus is perhaps the most common stick insect in New Zealand. It is very common on kanuka and manuka throughout the North Island and part of the South Island. These species are usually green, but can often be various shades of brown or even red. Some individuals have many tubercles on the body surface. There are three recognized species in the genus:
- Clitarchus hookeri (White 1846)
- Clitarchus rakauwhakanekeneke Buckley, Myers, and Bradler 2014
- Clitarchus tepaki Buckley, Myers, and Bradler 2014
Clitarchus tepaki is found only in the Cape Reinga and Karikari Peninsulas, northern New Zealand. Clitarchus rakauwhakanekeneke is restricted to the Poor Knights Islands. Some populations of C. hookeri species contain only females and so must reproduce via parthenogenesis (Buckley et al. 2008, 2010a; Morgan-Richards et al. 2010).
A mating pair of Clitarchus hookeri from the Coromandel. The male is the smaller of the two. Image - Kathy Hill and David Marshall
A Clitarchus hookeri egg from Wellington. Image - B. Rhode
Male and female of Clitarchus rakauwhakanekeneke from the Poor Knights Islands. Image - T. Buckley
Male of Clitarchus tepaki from North Cape. Image - T. Buckley
A female Clitarchus well-camouflaged on a manuka tunk in the Rimutaka Ranges. Image - T. Buckley
