The stick insects that survive being eaten by birds News

It’s commonly assumed that when insects are eaten by birds, they and their unborn young have no chance of survival. However, a team of Japanese researchers hypothesized that the eggs within insect bodies can pass through birds undigested. They tested this hypothesis with stick insects, known for their hard eggs, and found that some eggs are excreted unharmed and successfully hatch. Stick insects cannot travel very far by themselves, so being eaten by birds could even contribute to expanding their habitat.

The research team was led by Associate Professor Kenji Suetsugu (Kobe University Graduate School of Science), Associate Professor Katsuro Ito (Kochi University), and Associate Professor Takeshi Yokoyama (Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology). The findings were published in the online edition of Ecology on May 29.

Plants cannot move around, so they have developed various ways to distribute their seeds. The most common is seed dispersal by animals, who eat the fruits and excrete the seeds whole. For many birds, insects are also one of their main food sources. If insect eggs can pass through birds unharmed, we could say that insects, just like plants, are using the birds as a means of long-distance transport.