Elegant chinchemolle

Agathemera elegans

Eats: Plants Stick and leaf insectsDeserts and dry places6 legs

The elegant chinchemolle is a stick insect from high up in the Andes Mountains of Chile. It has a clever trick to stay safe. When it is in danger, it squirts a spray that can make an attacker unable to see for a while.

Lives in

The Andes Mountains of Chile, about 1500 metres up

Top speed

about 0.2 km/h (0.12 mph)

On foot, estimate

Can it hurt you?

Better not touch

It does not bite or sting, but its defence spray can hurt eyes and make them blind for a short time. Look from a distance and never pick it up.

What does it eat?

Like other stick insects, it eats plants.

Photo of Elegant chinchemolle — Picture by (c) Ben Lyle Bedard, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

A garden snail about 0.05 km/h (0.03 mph)

Elegant chinchemolle about 0.2 km/h (0.12 mph)

A tortoise about 0.3 km/h (0.19 mph)

A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)

cool stuff

Fun facts

It lives in the Andes at about 1500 metres above the sea.

Its spray can cause blindness for a while, but the eyes get better again.

Scientists have found out exactly which chemical is in its spray.

you asked

Most asked questions about Elegant chinchemolle

?Is the elegant chinchemolle dangerous?

Its spray can hurt your eyes and make them blind for a short time, so look from a distance and do not touch.

?Where does the elegant chinchemolle live?

In the Andes Mountains of Chile, about 1500 metres up.

For bug experts

Scientific name: Agathemera elegans
Group: Stick and leaf insects
Family: Agathemeridae
Classification: Insecta > Phasmatodea > Agathemeridae
Lives on: South America

Where the facts come from

Agathemera elegans (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
Picture by (c) Ben Lyle Bedard, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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