![]() ![]() While reports indicate that actual contact with the walking stick is needed to cause it to spray, others report that even when the walking stick is just disturbed, it will shoot out the spray. buprestiordes defends itself from predators, people or pets by squirting a strong smelling, milky-like fluid reported to be painful if contacting the eyes of humans and pets. ![]() The two-striped walking stick, Anisomortha buprestiordes A. However, each of these eggs produced without male fertilization will become only female adults. Although the female may not find a male partner, she still produces fertile eggs that she drops to the ground. After mating, the female drops her eggs into the leaf litter on the ground below her. When the weather warms, the eggs hatch and the newly hatched nymphs climb into the trees and shrubs where they complete their immature stages and become sexually mature adults. The insect’s egg stage overwinters through the cold months, but the adults die when temperatures reach freezing. The walking stick’s life cycle is very interesting. Despite their superb job of hiding, walking sticks are found and preyed upon by birds, rodents and praying mantises. For example, the giant walking stick of Texas feeds primarily on oaks and grapevines found in river bottom habitats, while the short-horned walking stick of California and Arizona prefer to feed on certain weed species. Walking sticks are opportunistic feeders, but some species feed on a single, preferred plant species. The damage is usually minor unless defoliation occurs repeatedly over the course of several years. The feeding activity of a very large walking stick may cause host plant damage. Behavior, Diet & HabitsĪdults are mostly nocturnal and feed on tree or shrub leaves at night. While found in most parts of the U.S., they are more plentiful in the southern parts of the country. Walking sticks are also known by several colloquial names including devil’s riding horse, prairie alligator, witch’s horse and musk mare. Walking sticks are such experts at camouflage that most of us are unaware of their occurrence, until they show up someplace like a window screen, on a vehicle or on another such inanimate object. Also, they are known to move their body in a manner that mimics the motion of a tree branch when blown by a breeze. They are experts at camouflage and often are easily overlooked since they blend in so well with their habitat. Imagine a stick with long legs and antennae and you get the picture of a walking stick. Most are without wings (except a Florida species) and are colored brown, tan, gray or green. vary in length from about two to eight inches. They are fairly easy to recognize due to their long, slender body, legs and close resemblance to a tree twig. The walking stick family in North America is made up of about 30 species. ![]()
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