Walking stick bugs are one of the coolest insects, and not just solely for the fact that they quite literally look like sticks that can walk. These bugs are extremely interesting, and there are over 3,000 different species of walking sticks. With over 3,000 different species you might think that they all look alike, but these different species can look very different than the others, it all. Stick bugs can also be commonly called bug sticks, stick insects and walking. Stick insects can easily be missed if you arent looking for them. Besides, they belong tophasmatodea orphasmida which mean anapparition or phantom. Should a bird or other predator grab hold of its leg, a stick insect can still make an easy escape. Also, the swaying movements may help the insects see objects against the background.
In warm climates, they have the potential to become serious pests. Stick insect species, often called walking sticks, range in size from the tiny, half inchlong timema cristinae of north america, to the formidable inchlong. A childrens stick insect is a winged insect native to eastern parts of australia, that are medium in size, compared to other stick insects. Facts about the walking stick insect a picture book for kids 80 lisa strattin.
In the process of metamorphosis, there are three stages egg, nymph and adult. A female can reproduce by herself, but will only produce other females. Facts about the walking stick insect a picture book for. They escape predation by blending into plant material. As indicated by the fossil record, the walking stick has evolutionary roots that reach back more than 200 million years, to the triassic geologic period. What are these bugs they called in different parts of the world. Titan stick insect acrophylla titan the titan stick insect is one of the longest stick insects in australia. Walking stick bug body structure and coloration resemble real twigs or branches so strongly that often birds or other predators do not notice them at all.
You might think that stick insects hide among sticks on the ground, hoping to blend in, but most stick insect species are usually found sitting right out. In fact, there have been no reports of male laboratory stick insect found in the. Walking sticks inhabit forests and grasslands and spend their life on the bushes and small trees. They have developed many unusual shapes to camouflage themselves to avoid detection by predators. Its any easy to keep stick insect that is interesting because of its weird body shape. From cage setup, to diet, to handling, we cover everything you need to know about stick insects in todays video. Walking sticks have suction cups and claws on their feet which enables them to wall up vertical surfaces and upside down. Stick insect facts and information introduction to stick insect. Phasmids in the family phylliidae are called leaf insects, leafbugs, walking leaves, or bug leaves. Walking stick insects are not permitted in all areas. Texas giant stick insects choose river bottoms with their favored oaks and grapevines. Giant walking sticks are very obvious when they leave bushes and trees to slowly stroll along fences and the exterior walls of houses. A mere quick glance at one of these guys might simply give off the impression of an uberslender twig. Because most stickinsects are long thin animals which hang down from their food plants to shed their skins it is most important that the cage have sufficient height, as a general rule it should be three times as high as the adult length of the stickinsects to be kept in it.
Stick and leaf insects live and feed on plants, and are generally nocturnal, moving about at night. They are found in south and southeast asia to new zealand over 3,000 species have been described. Stick insects also have the ability to play dead if they are threatened by a predator. Fun facts the walking stick has the ability to regenerate lost limbs.
The walking stick s life cycle is very interesting. Fantastic collection of worksheets and resources available to download today. From that basic body plan, emerge all sorts of amazing behaviors and abilities, as live science reveals here in 20 startling facts about insects. Learn facts about walking sticks habitat, diet, life history, and more. Northern walkingstick family diapheromeridae field station. Commonly known in some areas as walking sticks, these insects are mostly nocturnal, and come out at night to feed. True wallflowers, stick insects fade into the background and hope that no one, especially predators, notices their presence.
Stick insects make rhythmic, repetitive sidetoside movements. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The stick bug is a type of insect that actually looks like a stick. The name phasmatodea comes from ancient greek phasma, meaning an apparition or phantom. Walking sticks are order phasmida insects known for their long, distinct physiques truly sticklike indeed. If this camouflage fails for whatever reason, some species of walking sticks have other means to protect themselves. They are usually green or brown but may reveal brightly coloured underwings when they fly. Introduces stick bugs, including the different species characteristics, what they eat, how they. Be aware that seeing walking sticks for sale in some of your local petstores does not guarantee that they are legal pets.
Stick insect simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. That means they have a hard exoskeleton, or shell, on the outside of their bodies that protects them. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading facts about the walking stick insect a picture book. They live in tropical forests and woodlands throughout the world. They resemble sticks or twigs, which give them natural camouflage and an effective passive defense against predators.
Related to grasshoppers, crickets, and mantises, these creepycrawlies are usually brown, green, or black. Stick bugs, walking sticks or stick insects whatever you call them, these. Walking stick bugs are long, thin members of the insect family phasmatidae. Even their eggs are seedlike and usually dropped on the ground. Walkingstick, order phasmida, or phasmatodea, also called stick insect, any of about 3,000 species of slowmoving insects that are green or brown in colour and bear a resemblance to twigs as a protective device. Please check your local and stateprovincial regulations, especially in the united states.
Phasmids are insects that eat leaves and resemble leaves or sticks. Walking sticks, or stick insects, are a group of highly camouflaged insects. Size stick insect species, often called walking sticks, range in size from the tiny, halfinchlong timema cristinae of north america, to the formidable inchlong phobaeticus kirbyi of borneo. They usually spend their days motionless under leaves and plants, hiding in plain sight. Some species of walking sticks can squirt a fluid that will make their potential predators temporarily blind. Sometimes, we can not differentiate the insects due to they look like a stick or sometimesbranches of the trees or leaves. Stick insects or phasmids eat leaves and resemble leaves or sticks. In conclusion, stick insects are not difficult to care for as long as you do some basic research first. Stick insects look almost similar to the twigs and this makes them look very different from other insects. Stick insects are insects well known for their camouflage stick insects are also knwn as stickbugs, walking sticks, bug sticks, phasmids, ghost insects and leaf insects they belong to the order phasmatodea the orders name is derived from the ancient greek phasma, meaning an apparition or phantom.
You should know what they eat, how humid they need their environment to be and any other particular requirements that will help them thrive. Rocking movements by these sedentary sitting insects may replace flying. I walked out of my house this morning and saw a walking stick the insect sitting on the wall of my garage. The order phasmatodea includes the longest insects in the world. Walking stick 11 amazing examples of insect camouflage. Many animals like to eat them, such as bats, birds, lizards, and primates.
Thanks to unusual morphology, walking sticks are popular in the industry. Report this resource to let us know if this resource violates tpts content. Home science animals insects stick insects the stick insect. As their name suggests, they look just like sticks, and may even sway back and forth to more closely resemble a twig moving in the wind. Many different walking stick species exist out in the world roughly 2,000 in total.
The stick insects of the order phasmatodea are truly some of the most bizarre critters on the planet. There are more than 3000 species of walking stick bugs all over the world and in. The phasmatodea are an order of insects whose members are variously known as stick insects, stickbugs, walking sticks or bug sticks. Together they make up the order of insects called phasmatodea. It used to be considered the longest, but ctenomorpha gargantua discovered a few years ago is even longer. Share your top 3 most interesting facts from your favorite nonfiction stick insect book.
Facts about the walking stick insect a picture book for kids lisa strattin on. Childrens stick insects have the scientific name tropidoderus childrenii and are from the family phasmatidae, a family of. Stick insect species, often called walking sticks, range in size from the tiny, halfinchlong timema cristinae of north america, to the formidable inchlong. Phasmatodea,walking sticks, stick bugs,stick insects, phasmids, phasma, ghost insects, leaf insects phasmida, phasmatoptera, from. This information is provided to help you incubate, raise and maintain these amazing invertebrates all while learning about their biology. Masters of disguise but interesting works of nature once you spot them. Bees lifecycle bees parts label bees facts types of bees products of bees bee dance i. Write a fictional story to explain why stick insects are shaped like sticks. Walkingsticks belong to the suborder phasmatodea, family phasmatidea which includes both walkingsticks which look like sticks and leaf insects which look like leaves. Stick insectsalso known as walking stickslive in tropical and temperate or mild forests all over the world. There are more than 3,000 species of walking stick bugs all over the world and in diverse climates, so its not surprising that not all walking stick bugs look alike.
There are several thousand speices of walking stick insects and many are kept as pets. They are generally referred to as phasmatodeans, phasmids, or ghost insects. It uses camouflage to look like the sticks or branches of the trees where it lives. Stick insects in your classroom is a video conference. Stick insects are found on all continents except antarctica. National geographic reports that some species play dead, while others have. When the weather warms, the eggs hatch and the newly hatched nymphs climb into the trees and shrubs where they complete their immature stages. Walking sticks are found in ecosystems worldwide, in tropical, temperate and subtropical climatic zones. I will not deal with leaf insects here but they, too, are interesting insects.
And when you do find one, youll want to learn more about them. Stick insects are insects in the order phasmatodea or phasmida the whole order is camouflaged as either sticks or leaves. This is a form of asexual reproduction where the unfertilized females produce eggs that hatch into females. There is also a leaf type bug that looks like leaves. Stick insects, also called walking sticks, can have extremely long and slim bodies, but leaf insects have flat, wide bodies. Interesting facts about stick insects just fun facts. Walking sticks are diverse group of insects that can be found in tropical and subtropical parts of the world only few species live in temperate areas. This section contains information, facts, and worksheets on insects which are said to make up in excess of 90% of all known animal life on earth. Little is known about stick insects, making it difficult to declare the vulnerability of their status in the wild.
Insectwhich has ability to camouflage will be explained on facts about stick insects. Stick insect facts stick insects for kids dk find out. The phasmatodea also known as phasmida or phasmatoptera are an order of insects whose members are variously known as stick insects, stickbugs, walking sticks or bug sticks. Stick insects are known mainly for their camouflage, but they have other interesting traits as well. Some species also have sharp spines, an offensive odour, or the ability to force their blood, which contains toxic, distasteful chemicals, through special joints in the exoskeleton. One of the most interesting facts about stick insects is their ability to reproduce parthenogenetically. They will drop from the tree that they are in to the ground and stay perfectly still, it will then be hard for the predator to find as they would just look like a stick on the ground.
1353 880 1479 217 44 1335 1490 237 695 1572 618 1539 392 1178 397 880 1214 1472 80 802 256 1211 696 669 141 1025 189 1428 1353 404 605 1300 979 1209 1260 441