On the parthogenetic breeding of Eurycnema herculanea, Charpentier
This short note by R. Hanitsch, Curator of the Raffles Museum, Singapore, documents the first recorded case of parthenogenesis in the order Orthoptera, based on his rearing of the phasmid Eurycnema herculanea at the Raffles Museum in 1897–1898.
Summary
Hanitsch describes how a single female, received in January 1897, produced eggs that hatched into all-female offspring without any contact with males. The first generation reached maturity by August 1897 and began laying eggs by September; a second generation hatched in 1898, with one female reaching adulthood and laying eggs on September 15, 1898, though these eggs failed to develop, likely due to artificial rearing conditions (p. 33–34). He notes the remarkable developmental variation in hatching time (165 to over 240 days) and the insects’ ability to regenerate lost legs during moulting, though the replacements never reached full size (p. 34–35).
The note also provides a detailed morphological description of the adult female (total length up to 230 mm), including measurements of the head, thoracic segments, abdomen, legs, wings, ovipositor, and eggs, and situates the finding within the broader context of known parthenogenetic cases across insect orders (p. 35–36).