Subject: Stick Insect
Location: Near Sierra Vista, Arizona
September 15, 2012 11:38 am
I saw this about a week ago (September 2012)near Sierra Vista, Arizona. Is it native? Do you know its name? The stick insects I see in Berkeley, CA are usually classroom pets that have escaped.
Signature: Caterpillarlady
Dear Caterpillarlady,
This is a Western Shorthorned Walkingstick, Parabacillus hesperus, and it is a native species, not a classroom escapee. Though BugGuide only has submissions from California, the range is indicated as: “California and Oregon in the west, east through Arizona, Nevada, Utah and New Mexico to Texas” and the habitat is listed as: “Chaparral and grassland.”
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination