Convergent evolution: stick and leaf insects share 20 body features

A team of biologists in Montana and Germany has found that, regardless of type, those insects that express a protective stick- or leaf-like appearance all evolved the same basic body parts. In their study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Romain Boisseau, Douglas Emlen and Sven Bradler measured and compared characteristics from 1,359 stick insects covering 212 stick and leaf species and assessed the possibility of predicting evolutionary change.