Most people have at least seen a picture of a stick insect before. They’re known for resembling sticks (looking identical really) and other varieties of vegetation. Their "camo" is some of the best in the natural world.

Also known as walking sticks, stick insects are members of the order Phasmatodea and there are over 3,000 species; they vary in size from 1/2" to up to 13". Phasmatodea can be found world-wide but like many odd insects, most sticks are found in the warm tropics.

As I’m sure you would guess, stick insects are herbivores; they only eat the leaves of shrubs and other plants. Also, sticks are nocturnal and spend their day hanging from the plants they’ll eat for dinner.

As you can see in the video below, it’s common for walking sticks to rock back and forth. There are several theories for this motion:

1. The rocking motion is meant to resemble leaves and sticks swaying in the wind…an elaborate accessory to their already effective disguise.

2. The second theory is related to relative movement…it is thought the stick bugs rock back and forth to determine what objects are in the background and what objects are in the foreground.

Stick bugs are also unique because some species are parthenogenetic meaning they reproduce asexually. The females lay eggs and the eggs develop without being fertilized. The eggs hatch and the nymphs closely resemble the adults.

Did you know? Stick insects are often kept as pets. Pet stick bugs are easy to care for and can live up to three years in captivity. Of all the species, the Indian stick insect is probably the most common stick species kept as a pet; they can grow up to 3.9" in length. Never release a pet stick they can and have become an ecological problem.

{photo credit: Kate’s Photo Diary}

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