Mossy Spikey Stick Insect - brockphasma spinifemoralis - Butterfly Plants

This impressively armored stick insect is one of my personal favorites. Covered in spines and blending in perfectly to moss they are actually a very calm species and are easy to handle. 

Having been described in 2014 in Vietnam they are fairly new to science and have already been showing interesting behaviors. They have been observed digging holes with their front legs, which they then arch their abdomen over and drop an egg into the hole before tamping the soil back down with their legs. A similar behavior has been seen in the closely related "Epidares nolimetangere."

Care requirements:
Temperature: 18-26 degrees (I tend to let the temperatures drop slightly over night)
Humidity: 60%-90%
Food: Brambles, Rose, Oak and Ferns
Size: 5-8cm
Lifespan: 18 months
Breeding: Females bury their eggs in soil, which then take 8 months to hatch. Once hatching the nymphs take about 6 months to reach full size, with males maturing slightly before the females.
How I keep them:
I use a bio-actively set up 45cm x 45cm x 60cm tall glass enclosure with a heat mat placed on the side. I cover half of the roof ventilation to provide higher humidity and mist them once a day.