green and blue stick insect

This peppermint stick insect is eating a sloughed skin. As the insects grow bigger, they slough their old skin, and often eat it. The old skin is very nutritious and high in protein, so it is an example of not wasting anything in nature. These stick insects are very special with a very localised distribution in Australia and a very specialised diet of the leaves of the screw palm, Pandanus tectorius.