Phasmids
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Walking Sticks
I found these while hiking. I thought it interesting that the male and female looked so different! I was on a hike in the Hoosier National Forest, near Paoli, IN.
Chad
Hi Chad,
We believe these are mating Northern Walkingsticks, Diapheromera femorata. We are waiting for a confirmation on that identification from Eric Eaton.
bug ID, please…
We found this bug on the wall in a bathroom at the state park on Galveston Island, Texas. It is about 7mm long. It is very dark brown. It does not appear to have wings. We have taken some time to try to identify him and found several other insects for my son’s insect project on your site. We thought he was a Rove Beetle, but the size doesn’t match the descriptions we have seen. We are now stumped. Any help you could give us would be greatly appreciated! I enjoyed browsing your site.
Jane
Hi Jane,
We wrote to Eric Eaton to get an exact species on your Walking Stick. Here is his answer: “Yep, two-striped walkingstick, Anisomorpha buprestoides. You know they can spray an obnoxious liquid from glands in their "neck," right? People who encounter them should be careful. The spray can cause temporary blindness. They’re pretty accurate, too! Eric”
Safe or unsafe bug in SC?
Hello:
My name is Bob Stark and I’ve recently moved to Little River, SC (North Myrtle Beach). This is a picture of an insect which we’ve been told is poisonous, and I would like to know if that is correct. Our home is 4 miles from the shore, and our backyard is bordered by a field. I’m guessing that the smaller one is the male, and that since this is late summer, it is mating season. Am I correct? This insect clings to our siding and at night, will cling on our screens, if we have an inside light on. When we moved in, the local movers refused to bring our furniture through the garage until we removed this insect, claiming it was poisonous. Our dog approached it, and apparently got sprayed in the face as she got near. I; however, got no reaction as I moved it along off our home. Thank you in advance for any information you may be able to provide as to it’s name and safety, as our Grandson visits from time to time, and I would like to provide him with the correct stats on this insect. For example: does is bite, sting, spray?
Sincerely,
Bob Stark
Hi Bob,
This is a pair of Two-lined Walkingsticks, Anisomorpha buprestoides, also known as Musk-Mares or Devil Riders because of their habit of remaining in coitus for extremely long periods of time. The male is much smaller than the female. Beware!! They do not bite but they can spray a noxious substance from their necks that is painful if it gets in your eye.
Walking Stick? ….or just a stick!
Hi. Wow! I love your site! First one that I’ve found that shows a variety of pictures of each type of insect/bug. Is this a walking stick….or my imagination? It only has two pair of legs.
Thanks! Linda Denny
Hi Linda,
It is not your imagination, but a for real Walking Stick. The third pair of legs is being carried foreward near the head which adds to the camouflage.
I am the rude person that sent you a photo a few minutes ago with no question or anything. sorry. Sometimes, I get excited. I found this insect (or creature) this morning next to the door going into our shed. He is still in the same position this afternoon. The interesting thing about this creature is that the lighter line going up his back, is actually curved over as if it were a tail????? I live in Ohatchee, Calhoun County, Alabama which is Northeast Alabama. Do you know what this creature is?
Thank you so very much
Martha Tucker
Hi Martha,
This isn’t one insect, but a pair. The smaller male Walkingstick is mounting the Musk Mare.
Two Louisiana Bugs
I was just wondering what kind of bugs these are so that I can avoid them at all costs, they are so ICKY!!!! The black bug was found out in the swamps in Louisiana; one of our guys put it in this box and brought it in. Later it ate through the box and escapes. The other bug was in the parking lot of an office building in Baton Rouge. Any ideas? Thanks very much.
Ashleigh
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| Muskmare | Orthopteran |
Hi Ashleigh,
The parking lot insect is a Muskmare, a type of Walking Stick. They can squirt a noxious fluid that will irritate your eyes if you aren’t cautious. The critter in the cage is an unidentifiable Orthopteran, probably some species of Flightless Katydid. Nice pedicure.
Hi there,
I love your website, and find myself checking it regularly. I thought you might like a couple of photos I took. The walking sticks are clearly happy and content on my house wall.
Grace E. Pedalino
Troy, Virginia
Hi Grace,
And by the look of your intimate moment photo, there will be a new generation of Walkingsticks next year. Also check out Grace’s great Preying Mantis photo and maternal Wolf Spider.
found a bug in my garage
I found this bug in my garage that caught me by surprise. When I moved it with my broom, it started to attack the broom with it’s stinger. Creeped me out!!
Tony
Hi Tony,
We wrote to Eric Eaton to see if he could give us a species name for your Walkingstick. He wrote: “This is indeed a walkingstick, specifically Anisomorpha buprestoides, and a female. The species goes by regional names like "devil-rider" and "musk-mare," in reference to the fact that mating pairs can remain coupled for days at a time; also, they can squirt a potent, foul, milky substance from glands in their neck. If they hit you in the eye it is truly painful, aparently not damaging otherwise.” The Walkingstick doesn’t have a stinger, but you want to steer clear of that noxious secretion.
stick bugs
We have some stick bugs as pets. we started out with four and had them a good long time. one by one they died, and we put their cage away. some time later we went to use the cage for a toad the kids found and to our surprise there were baby stick bugs in it. well we ended up with four nice size stick bugs again. we love them , they make great little pets. our question is , how will we know if they laid eggs? and what do the eggs look like? I hope when we lose the ones we have it will not be the end of our bugs.
thank you for any help you can give me.
Mary in Montana
Hi Mary,
Walkingsticks, Family Phasmidae, are much more common in the South than the North, which is probably why you have the Northern Walkingstick, Diapheromera femorata. The males grow to 3 inches and females to 3 3/4 inches in length. They range north to Alberta Canada. They will eat the leaves of many deciduous trees but especially like oak and hazelnut. The female drops her eggs singly and they overwinter among ground litter, hatching in the spring. I guess someone never cleaned the cage before putting it away which is why you wound up with nymphs for a second generation of pets. I have heard that when there is a large population of Walkingsticks laying eggs in the forest, the eggs dropping sound like falling rain.
Bug questions
Hello.
Could you please tell me what this bug is. I think it may be called a stick bug, but I’m not sure. This one was about seven inches long and hanging out on my
sliding glass door. Very creepy. Do they bite or sting?
Thanks much.
Dianne
Beautiful Walking Stick photo Dianne,
They do not bite, but some Florida species are known to spray a noxious fluid when disturbed. Your specimen is benign.
Attached is also a picture of one of many walkingsticks roaming around.
Thank you for your help,
Darin, Melissa and Spencer
We just got this photo in.
(11/15/2003) Kind of like a Walkingstick
Hi,
I would like to see if you can identify an insect for us. Sorry I have no picture, so I will try to describe it. As near as I can describe, it is like a fat walking stick. Usually about 2 inches long, 1/4 to 3/8" wide in the middle, brownish in color, and with a smaller version (1 inch long and skinny) riding piggy back. They were sighted climbing pine trees in central Arkansas.
thanks for your help,
Jon
Dear Jon,
Close relatives of the Walkingsticks are a group of insects known as Timemas, Family Timemidae. They differ from Walkingsticks in being smaller and more robust in form. There is a great deal of guessing and speculation concernin the habits of this insect and many have reported it as feeding on coniferous trees. All forms are arboreal, and while they may be found on all kinds of trees during the mating season in May and June, they apparently feed largely in not entirely on deciduous trees. Our California species are a bright leaf green with occasional decidedly pink specimens. It has been reported that other species are brownish in color. Here is an image I downloaded of specimens in a collection.
I came across a walking stick insect while pruning my fruitless cherry tree. I live in Maryland and was wandering what is the specific epithet and if there are any hazards with handling them ?
Below is a photo.
Thanks,
Steve Hawk
Hi steve,
We just recieved a letter from a reader in Florida who was sprayed by a Two-lined Walkingstick, Anisomorpha buprestoides. It seems this particular species has a defense mechanism that doesn’t do any permanent damage, but causes temporary vision problems and discomfort. A northern species, Diapheromera femorata, is fond of cherry as well as some other tree. Unlike some of the tropical species, it is wingless. To our knowledge, they are harmless, though they feed on the leaves of trees. Rarely are they numerous enough to cause any damage to the tree. They are slow moving herbivorous insects that are usually found on trees or shrubs. Many species are able to emit a foul smelling substance from the glands in the thorax. Unlike most insects, Walking Sticks are able to regenerate lost legs. The eggs are laid by simply scattering them to the ground, and when the egg laying females are plentiful, their group egg laying can sound like falling rain. The females are generally larger than the males.
