the name for the insects of the genus Phasma (Grk. phasma = an appearance),of the family Phasmidae, curious insects not confinedto Australia, but very common there. The various speciesare known as Leaf-insects, Walking leaves, Stick-caterpillars, Walking-sticks, Spectres, etc., from the extraordinary illusion withwhich they counterfeit the appearance of the twigs, branches,or leaves of the vegetation on which they settle. Some havelegs only, which they can hold crooked in the air to imitatetwigs; others have wings like delicate leaves, or they arebrilliant green and covered with thorns. They imitate not onlythe colour and form of the plant, but its action or motion whenswayed slightly by the wind.
1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 209:
«A span-long Phasmid then he knew,
Stretching its fore-limbs like a branching twig.»