| Name: |
Walking Stick |
| AKA: |
Twiggy |
| Scientific Name: |
Diapheromera femorata |
| Description: |
Up to 3 inches; very slender; color and shape mimics
twigs or branches (sticks) in appearance. 6 slender legs that can
easily compress against the body or mimic small branches coming from
the body. The young walking sticks are usually an olive green; the
adults are brown. They move very slowly and can easily camouflage
themselves by positioning on a branch to look like a stick. They emit
a foul smelling odor from glands on its thorax, discouraging other
things from eating them. |
| Diet: |
Leaves of cultivated plants and leafy (deciduous) trees.
|
| Habitat: |
Woody stems of trees and bushes. Prevalent in the eastern
and southern United States. |
| Wanted For: |
Deforestation of trees and cultivated plants. When present
in large numbers these insects can do serious damage to plants. They
often strip the leaves off the tree before it goes dormant for the
winter, thus causing the tree to die. |
| Last Known Location: |
In the bushes and trees in the warm hot months of summer.
|
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