ENTOMORIA - Where wings and colors take flight

June 06, 2025

Featuring Trachyaretaon carmelae named after Dr. Carmela Española

In 2004, Prof. Carmela Española joined the Babuyan Islands expedition as a bird specialist while pursuing her master’s in wildlife studies at UPLB. During the trip, her team encountered an abundance of unstudied stick insects, prompting them to collect and document some specimens. These turned out to be a previously undescribed species, later named Trachyaretaon carmelae in her honor by colleagues Ireneo Lit Jr. and Orly Eusebio, acknowledging her role in collecting the holotype.

The expedition not only contributed to entomology but also resulted in the discovery of the Calayan rail and numerous bird records, highlighting the biological importance of these understudied islands.

T. carmelae is a nocturnal, herbivorous stick insect native to the Babuyan Islands that plays a key ecological role by consuming large amounts of foliage, influencing plant growth and community structure, and contributing to nutrient cycling and decomposition.

Though it serves as prey for birds and reptiles, T. carmelae is far less of a pest risk compared to other stick insect species, as it forages in male-female pairs like “spiky love birds.” The species has mostly been studied through incidental observations, as only a few researchers have been able to venture into its remote habitat. Formal ecological data remain sparse.

This lack of research reflects broader challenges in Philippine conservation science, where logistical difficulties and limited academic focus hinder progress in natural history.

Española underscores the importance of curiosity and fieldwork in biodiversity research, urging future scientists to explore places like the Babuyan Islands and to value natural history as a cornerstone of conservation.