Walkingstick ID question
What a great website! I’m no entomologist by any means, but as a birder, I find myself curious about just about anything else that crosses my path. I photographed this walkingstick in late spring 2005 on the grounds of Hiroshima Shudo University, Hiroshima, Japan. Sorry for the lack of size reference, it was about four inches or so in length. I’ve got a few more unidentified insects in my photos from that trip, but I figured I’d pace myself and send these in singly over time. Cheers!
Carlos Ross
college student / freelance pop culture journalist / birder
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona, USA
Hi Carlos,
Sorry we cannot identify what species this Walkingstick is, but we will post it in the hopes on of our readers can assist. Thank you very much for pacing your images. It makes it very difficult for us to post letters when there are photos that must be archived on multiple pages.
Bug Pictures. Seeking ID.
I have a couple walkingstick pictures I wanted to share with you and others. One is a Northern Walkingstick found while camping in the Monongahela National Forest, WV (Oct 2006). The other is an unknown walking stick acquired at a reptile show in PA. This one is a baby. The parents were present at the show, a single specimen reaching nearly end to end of the 10-gal tank show container. I’d love to know the species and region of origin for this walkingstick. Thanks for your time! Best,
Shell
Hi Shell,
Our grandmother grew up on the Monongahela River in Pennsylvania coal country. Thanks for sending in your photos. We don’t know what your exotic Walkingstick specimen is or its country of origin. Perhaps one of our readers can supply an answer. Keep checking back with the site to see if we post an ID.
Update: (12/17/2006)
Hi Bugman,
I did some research and thought that your mysterious exotic walking stick (picture sent in 12/16) may possibly be the Eurycantha calcarata, also known as the New Guinea spiny stick insect. They are from Papau New Guinea. Hope this helps!! Keep up the good work – I am addicted to your wonderful site!!
Stephanie
Identification of insect , grasshopper/cricket, and butterfly
To whom it may concern:
1) I saw an insect on my screen door in Portal, ARIZONA, U.S.A., near Cave Creek Canyon, which is high desert. It stayed on the screen for about 4 hours, hardly moving. It was about 4-5 inches in length ("wood bug on screen"). I THINK IT MIGHT BE IN THE PHASMID FAMILY? Do you have any idea what this insect is called? and any other information about it would be greatly appreciated (photos attached). Thank you very much for your help!
Irene Kitzman MD
Portal, AZ and Hamden, CT
Hi Irene,
To better conform to our [lack of] organization, we will be posting your various queries sepatately. This is indeed a Phasmid. It is a Gray Walkingstick, Pseudosermyle straminea, a desert species. Seems your specimen is missing a front leg.
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Posted 02 December 2006
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Flesh Fly, Phasmid and moth
Hello there… I sent a photo of a Flesh Fly from Sydney to you yesterday – although at that time I didn’t know what kind of fly it was. I don’t think I saw any spiny leaf insects on your website, so here’s a link to an article I’ve written which shows my daughter’s classroom pets (phasmids), the flesh fly again, and an unknown small moth.. (please help on that last count 
Cheers,
Chris.
Hi Chris,
Sorry, we are really able to only post a fraction of the letters we receive. Your letter requires downloading and posting photos to three different pages on our site as well as the homepage, a taks that will take nearly a half an hour, right now the allotted time we have for the entire website. We are posting your Spiny Leaf Insect, Extatosoma tiaratum, and linking to your site.
pine needle looking insect
Okay, I’m stumped. Can you identify this most awesome example of evolution? This was on my screen one morning in southern New Hampshire. It is the exact size and shape of a couple of pine needles crossed. Cheers,
Dan
Hi Dan,
This master of mimicry is a Northern Walkingstick, Diapheromera femorata.
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Posted 29 September 2006
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Mating Walking Sticks – Insex
Found these two spending a few hours on the outside wall of my house in the Ozarks of Arkansas. I take it these are not the “muskmares” that spray noxious fumes.
Ken
Hi Ken,
You are correct. These are not Muskmares. We believe them to be Northern Walkingsticks, Diapheromera femorata, which range as far south as Northern Florida. There is more information on BugGuide.
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Posted 20 September 2006
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Tagged: bug love
insect from 12300 feet in Andes – Tambopaxi near Cotopaxi volcano
The insects on your web pages have such fascinating morphology and many are so beautiful. Thank you for a wonderful web site. I contacted you earlier about Dutch bugs – I thought you might like to see a beautiful insect (although only adequately photographed) from Tambopaxi which is at 12,300 feet in the Ecuadorian Andes – this is close to the 19,300 foot Cotopaxi volcano. These insects were found under a rock by my son in April 2006. From memory the largest was about 4 cm long. If you know what they are I would love to know. Best Wishes,
Yours sincerely,
Richard
Hi Richard,
Our best guess here is probably some species of Phasmid or Walkingstick. They are rather awesome looking creatures. Eric Eaton wrote to confirm our identification, but sadly, we have lost his exact words. He added that this is probably a toxic species based on the coloration.
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Posted 15 September 2006
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Walking Stick
I took this photo of a young walking stick the other day. It is the first time I ever saw one actually molting. It was on a rose bush in our garden here in Northwest Arkansas. I suppose it had to hang there exposed until its new exoskeleton hardened. It is obviously a good deal larger than its old skin that is attached to the rose leaf.
Larry
Hi Larry,
Thank you for sending us your contribution. Like other arthropods, Walkingsticks cannot grow until their hard exoskeleton is shed, which allows room for expansion.
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Posted 05 September 2006
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what’s this bug?
Bugman,
My son found this stick like bug hiding behind the gutter. He coaxed it out and onto a stick. You can see how long it is. I would say it was about 5 inches in length from head to tail. When we poked with a stick or moved the stick it was on too much, the bug would emit a smoke from its back. It smelled bad. Can you identify it?
Rgds,
Dan O’Brien
Hi Dan,
If the noxious spray secreted by the Two Striped Walkingstick gets in your eye, you might be in for a stinging surprise.
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Posted 05 September 2006
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A lek of two-lined walking sticks?
You run a great website, and I was able to use it to identify these insects as Two-lined Walkingsticks, Anisomorpha buprestoides. But I’ve never seen them in a group like this, so I thought you might be interested in seeing them. Have you ever seen them do this? A whole bunch of walking sticks were grouped together on a palm frond which vines had curled over somewhat. They were making clicking sounds and it looked like the males were fighting with each other to mate, hitting each other with their front legs. Here are the pictures, which
I took at Biven’s Arm Nature Park in Gainesville, FL.
Gary
Hi Gary,
We are impressed with what looks to be a mating frenzy of Muskmares. We will see if Eric Eaton has an opinion on this strange occurrence.
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Posted 01 September 2006
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Tagged: bug love
Walking sticks
I went to let the dog out and discovered these two on my door handle…I have been around walking sticks my whole life but have never seen any this brilliant. Is there a reason for their brilliant color or are they a different variety than the plain brown ones? You probably can’t tell by the picture but the female was huge. We don’t see them that big here very often. Thanks
Melody
Hi Melody,
You didn’t tell us where “here” is, so we are guessing Texas. We are thrilled to get your highly detailed photo of Giant Walkingsticks, Megaphasma dentricus, mating. You can even make out the spiny ridge along the lower surface of the femora. This is the largest North American Walkingstick.
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Posted 07 August 2006
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Tagged: bug love
Walking Stick
Hi there,
I was just wondering about a walking stick that I found this morning in my front yard. I live in El Cerrito, Ca. Is it common around my area? Do you know the name of the species? Also It’s about 3" long. Thank you for your time.
Gavin Lee
Hi Gavin,
Are you Gavin Lee the photographic artist who is a friend of Nechelle Wong? Sadly, we don’t recognize your species of Walkinstick as it does not match the two species Charles Hogue identifies from Los Angeles. Perhaps it is an escaped exotic. We will see if our favorite expert Eric Eaton has an opinion. Here is Eric’s response: “Oh, and the walkingstick….reminds me most of the western short-horned walkingstick, Parabacillus hesperus, but could easily be something else. Walkingstick diversity in the southwest is surprisingly high.” Eric later retracted his possible identification. Seems the antennae are too long. Here is what Eric wrote: “Gee, I don’t think I correctly identified that walkingstick from El-whatever, Califiornia. It could well be something exotic. Any chance he captured the thing? If so, I would suggest he make haste to his closest state agriculture person. You might even want to e-mail the image yourself to someone in the state ag department, or Doug Yanega at UC Riversice (dyanega@ucr.edu). I’ll watch the site for updates on that one. Eric”
Hey Daniel,
The unknown walkingstick is an Indian Walkingstick, Carausius morosus. It’s from India and it’s eggs can be purchased on eBay as fish food.
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Posted 24 July 2006
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