Walkingsticks (Stick Insects)

Photo of a northern walkingstick on autumn dogwood leaves
Scientific Name
Diapheromera femorata, Megaphasma denticrus, and others
Family
Five North American families in the order Phasmida (sometimes Phasmatodea) (walkingsticks)
Description

Walkingsticks, or stick insects, genuinely look like walking sticks: They are perfectly camouflaged to look like brown, tan, gray, or green twigs. The legs, body, and antennae are long and slender. The legs are all roughly the same length. All Missouri walkingsticks are wingless. Two species are most common in our state:

  • The northern walkingstick (Diapheromera femorata) is very slender, and the antennae are two-thirds the total body length. Males are brown and can be 3 inches long; females are greenish brown and can be 3¾ inches long. The pincerlike circi at the tip of the abdomen are not segmented. Immatures are green.
  • The giant walkingstick (Megaphasma denticrus) is the largest insect in North America, with females up to 7 inches long. The middle and hind legs have spines. Males have a single, large spine on each hind leg.
Size
Length: to 2 inches or more. Varies with species; female giant walkingsticks reach 7 inches.
Where To Find
image of Walkingsticks Stick Insects Distribution Map
Statewide.

Walkingsticks are perfectly camouflaged for a life in trees and shrubs. They not only look like twigs but also sway their bodies to mimic the motion of branches in a breeze.

Adults are mostly nocturnal, feeding at night and resting during the day. We rarely notice walkingsticks unless they venture onto buildings or sidewalks.

Because they eat tree leaves, any occasional peaks in walkingstick populations can defoliate trees. Unless this happens repeatedly, or the trees are stressed by something else besides, the trees usually recover.

Walkingsticks chew tree leaves. In Missouri, they “stick” mostly to deciduous trees such as oaks, locusts, walnut, and cherry. Our most common species, the northern walkingstick (Diapheromera femorata), prefers the foliage of oaks and hazelnut. With Missouri’s many oak-hickory forests, it is no surprise that species is common here.

Common, but it is hard to see them.

The name of their order, Phasmida, is from the Greek word for "phantom" or "apparition," referring to their ability to disappear into their habitat.

Globally, there are thousands of species of walkingsticks, but a great majority of them are restricted to tropical regions. There are only about 30 species in North America, and most of those are found only in our southernmost states.

Walkingsticks used to be grouped with grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids in the order Orthoptera, but they have been given their own order.

The walkingsticks that live in Missouri, unlike their tropical relatives, must cope with freezing temperatures. They do this by overwintering as eggs. The adults die when it freezes. In late summer and fall, after mating, the female drops eggs, one by one, into the leaf litter below her. The eggs hatch in spring, and the young climb into the trees above them. Like other insects, they molt through a number of immature stages before a final molt in which they emerge as sexually mature adults.
When their populations suddenly peak, walkingsticks can defoliate trees to the point of having an economic impact. Otherwise, most people are scarcely aware that walkingsticks exist, until they encounter one in a place — like the hood of a parked car — where the twiglike camouflage doesn’t work.
As leaf-eaters, walkingsticks do what horticulturalists would call “pinching back” foliage. This encourages new leaves and buds to sprout. When populations are large, this natural form of pruning is more dramatic. Their wonderful camouflage is an indicator that many predators — most likely birds — will eat walkingsticks when they find them.
Media Gallery
Photo of a northern walkingstick on autumn dogwood leaves
Walkingsticks are long, slender insects that are perfectly camouflaged to look like brown or green twigs. Most species are tropical, but some types are found in Missouri.
Jim Rathert
Photo by Jim Rathert, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
1/6
Photo of a walkingstick on a tree trunk
Walkingsticks are long, slender insects that are perfectly camouflaged to look like brown or green twigs. They chew tree leaves. In Missouri, they “stick” mostly to deciduous trees such as oaks, hazelnut, locusts, walnut, and cherry.
Jim Rathert
Photo by Jim Rathert, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
2/6
Photo of a giant walkingstick
The giant walkingstick (Megaphasma denticrus) is the largest insect in North America, with females up to 7 inches long. The middle and hind legs have spines. Males have a single, large spine on each hind leg.
Jim Rathert
Photo by Jim Rathert, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
3/6
Photo of walkingsticks during outbreak
Because they eat tree leaves, any occasional peaks in walkingstick populations can defoliate trees. Unless this happens repeatedly, the trees usually recover with no problems.
Jim Rathert
Photo by Jim Rathert, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
4/6
Photo of mating walkingsticks on tree trunk
Walkingsticks mate in late summer and autumn. As with many insects, female walkingsticks are larger than males.
Jim Rathert
Photo by Jim Rathert, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
5/6
A large gray female and smaller yellow walking stick mate while hanging from a tree branch in front of a red brick wall.
People rarely notice walkingsticks unless they venture onto buildings or sidewalks, where their camouflage doesn’t work.
Submitted by Tiffany Wilson
Use of this image is restricted to MDC only
6/6
Photo of a northern walkingstick on autumn dogwood leaves
Photo of a walkingstick on a tree trunk
Photo of a giant walkingstick
Photo of walkingsticks during outbreak
Photo of mating walkingsticks on tree trunk
A large gray female and smaller yellow walking stick mate while hanging from a tree branch in front of a red brick wall.
Similar Species
About Land Invertebrates in Missouri
Invertebrates are animals without backbones, including earthworms, slugs, snails, and arthropods. Arthropods—invertebrates with “jointed legs” — are a group of invertebrates that includes crayfish, shrimp, millipedes, centipedes, mites, spiders, and insects. There may be as many as 10 million species of insects alive on earth today, and they probably constitute more than 90 percent all animal species.