The scientific order Phasmatodea, or stick and leaf insects, is known for a variety of camouflage that allows the animals to blend in with their surroundings. They diversified after the dinosaurs went ...

A team of biologists in Montana and Germany has found that, regardless of type, those insects that express a protective stick- or leaf-like appearance all evolved the same basic body parts.

More information: Christin Walther et al, A Fungal Endophyte Alters Poplar Leaf Chemistry, Deters Insect Feeding and Shapes Insect Community Assembly, Ecology Letters (2025). DOI: 10.1111/ele.