• Tape strips of different coloured paper onto the outside of the mesh of the cage and see which coloured paper the Pink Winged choose to glue their eggs on.

• Feed one cage of Indian stick insects with privet leaves and another cage of Indian stick insects with bramble (blackberry) leaves. Record the differences in growth rates, activity levels and lifespans.

• Record how many eggs Thailand stick insects lay each day and how long these eggs take to hatch (they can hatch in 4 weeks).

• Just where is Guadeloupe? And Malaysia? And Madagascar and Thailand? All these countries are where stick insects originate.

• Stress increases egg production. So if stick insects are subjected to one noisy night their egg laying rate during that night will increase. If all food is removed from the cage in the morning, by the start of the afternoon some female Sabah stick insects will probably be laying eggs (they bury their eggs in sand). Obviously the food should be put back in the afternoon!

• Giant African Land Snails eat the inside of eggshells to obtain extra calcium. Give them a selection of eggshells and see which they prefer. For example do they prefer expensive Colombian Blacktail eggs to the "standard" eggs? And do they choose to eat free range organic eggs rather than the cheaper barn-laid eggs?

Please email your topic suggestions to: les@small-life.co.uk

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