Insects of Exuma — walking sticks

While you are exploring the island of Great Exuma, you may easily walk right past a ‘walking stick’ or mistake it for a twig as it rests on a branch or leaf amid all the bits and pieces of the surrounding trees and shrubs in the forested and bushy areas of Exuma. That is because the green, brown or grey-brown, sometimes striped or spotted, coloring of this fascinating insect (order Phasmatodea) is the perfect camouflage, making it extremely difficult to spot.

Although walking sticks are found all over the world, they mostly inhabit tropical and sub-tropical regions where the climate is hot and sunny year round.

Walking sticks are long and very slender, the males usually being 2”-3” in length and the females, 3”-4”. They have two long antennae and very long legs. Some species have two pairs of wings but most do not.

From a tiny round black egg laid by an adult female, the insect hatches into the nymph stage in which it resembles a tiny adult but usually lighter in color. As it grows, it molts as a new, larger skeleton grows underneath the old skin which, in turn, cracks open to reveal the new, larger body. The new casing is soft at first, and vulnerable so must be protected until it hardens. The young insect is able to regenerate a limb lost to a predator. Each time it molts, the new limb will grow back a bit longer until it is almost as long as the others. If it loses an antenna, a new leg rather than an antenna, will grow back in its place.

After it has molted several times, the resulting adult is able to reproduce a new generation. The life span of a walking stick is from one to two years.

The insect is herbivorous, enjoying a diet of plants and leaves, especially rose bushes. They are nocturnal feeders which allow them to be nearly invisible among the foliage as they feed.

Besides its camouflage coloring, the walking stick has a few other survival mechanisms in its bag of tricks. The insect can feign death by remaining motionless in one spot for hours or even for an entire day — looking for all the world like a plant stem. It may also sway back and forth on its long legs as if being blown by a gentle breeze just like the leaf or twig upon which it sits. Those that have wings can use them as mini parachutes or just fly away from predators. Some also have an unpleasant odor which repels their enemies or they can rub their antennae together, making a loud noise to frighten them away.

Walking sticks are not harmful to humans and because they are so fascinating some people even keep them as pets.