Image of Northern Walkingstick

Description:

This is the biggest walkingstick I’ve ever seen! As far as I can tell, this is a Northern Walkingstick (Diapheromera fermorata) and most likely a female. They are in the Phasmatidae Order which is a Latin derivative of “phasama” meaning “ghost”. This one wasn’t very ghost-like on the back wall of the Cool Creek Nature Center, but in their preferred habitat of oak trees, their diet of choice, these amazing insects are very difficult to spot! They are wingless vegetarians, and despite their size, are harmless. These fragile insects have the ability to regenerate limbs when needed. They will also play dead if threatened and drop from their leaf, falling stiffly and still on the ground, hoping the predator can’t tell it from a twig. This behavior is called thanatosis. They mate in the fall generally, but reproducing doesn’t have to include a male and female. Unmated females can produce eggs parthenogenetically, without the assistance of males, however all the young will be females. Traditional mating will produce males and females, and include several days of the male riding on the back of a female until she is ready to mate. Females scatter about 50 seed-like eggs into leaf litter and loose soil. They over winter and, in the spring hatch and go through 5 instars. Leaving some leaf litter in your yard helps these and other fascinatingly awesome critters survive our winter for us to enjoy the following year, as well as taking their place in the food chain.