Uno is a radio star!

Uno is noticeably bigger - about 3.5 cm long. He is 6 weeks old now. 

If a student hasn't seen him for a while, they are quite surprised at how much he has grown. His colour is changing slightly too. He is not the bright lime green of his early days any more. He's dulled off in colour and gone a slightly darker green. There are brown stripes on the segments of his antennae, and his abdomen has a whitish stripe on it at the moment.

We are wondering if he is about to shed his exoskeleton. Or maybe he has already? We haven't seen him shed, or found any evidence of a moult (shed skin) on the base of the enclosure. I think one of the other insects at another school has already shed. We'll just keep our eyes open.

Here, Uno is being gently transferred onto a fresh plant. Yum! The other one had been insdie for a few extra weeks, and it was definitely ready for a bit of fresh air, sunshine and water!

As for the eggs... They are still eggs! We didn't end up putting them in the chicken incubator because I could not get the temperature stable in the right range. And, then we started taking the egg container to a different classroom where they get full northern sun through their window most of the day. They have spent a few weekend days at my house on the heater or in front of the sunny window. Still not happy...The latest advice from the Zoo Keeper is to shine a desk lamp straight on them!



This afternoon, we are quite excited because we are doing a radio interview! Between 4-5, on  94.1fm 3WBC

Details of the show are:

Here’s the blurb for the podcast:

Christian College Bellarine was a successful applicant from the Melbourne Zoo, selected to participate in a pilot program where schools could raise critically endangered Lord Howe Island Stick Insects in captivity. Year 8 Environmental Studies students applied for the project with their teacher. The special story of how this insect was thought to be extinct for over 80 years has spread throughout the school. Many students from the Prep –Year 9 campus visit the specially made enclosure to try and find where Uno is hiding. He is so named as the first and so far only, Lord Howe Island Stick Insect to hatch at the school. Conditions for a healthy environment for the insects have meant cleaners have avoided using chemical cleaning products around the enclosure. Young children rush up to search for Uno in the foliage in his enclosure; older students are monitoring the “climate” conditions on a daily basis. Other students have conducted a behaviour research project. Eventually, all animals and research information will be returned to the Zoo. During the project, the school is keeping the Zoo and other schools informed of progress via a dedicated blog site. The project has been a highlight for the students and the school.

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