Giant walkingsticks are native to Texas, and, just like our state, they are big. These phasmids are the largest insects in the country.
It looks like a stick and acts like a stick, but this native Texan is certainly not a dead tree branch. Giant walkingsticks are insects that seamlessly blend into their treetop surroundings. They don’t bite, sting, make noise, jump, prey on others, or fly. Their main goal in life is to go unnoticed.
It’s not by chance that the body of a giant walkingstick closely resembles a twig ranging from green to brown or gray in color. The slow-moving insect from the Phasmatodea order has evolved to resemble its environment, with sticky feet that hold on to its habitat.
As a herbivore, the giant walkingstick has a mouth made for chewing, two compound eyes, and a pair of long sensory antennae. Females hold the record for the longest insect in America, reaching up to 7 inches—not including antenna.
Males and females look very much the same except the male is much smaller. On closer inspection, the male has large spur-like spines on its hind legs and a pincer-like grasper at its tail-end that is used in mating—when it gets to, that is. Females are parthenogenetic. They don’t need a mate to reproduce.
Female giant walkingsticks outnumber males 1 to 1,000. When a female reproduces on her own, she creates only females, which explains the lopsided ratio.
Males don’t compete for mating privileges. When a male and female mate, the male holds on with his grasper and rides around on the female’s back for hours or even days.
Each fall, females drop eggs a few at a time in different areas. The eggs overwinter and hatch in the spring. Upon hatching, nymphs resemble adults and will molt four to five times in three to 12 months before reaching maturity. Only one generation is produced a year.
Giant walkingsticks have no venomous stinging or biting parts as they only eat foliage. The gentle giants spend their days mimicking branches and waiting until evening to dine on leaves. They don’t pose a significant threat to a tree or plant when in small numbers.
Bats, birds, reptiles, and rodents prey on walkingsticks, which have only their camouflaged appearance for defense. They don’t just look like sticks, they act like sticks, holding perfectly still or swaying in the breeze. They will sometimes drop to the ground and lose a limb. They can also emit a foul-smelling and bad-tasting liquid.
As the largest, weirdest-looking, and most passive insects in the Highland Lakes, they are a boon to nature photographers.
Just for fun, what would be a good group name for giant walkingsticks? If you have a smack of jellyfish, a murder of crows, and a memory of elephants, what about a broom of walkingsticks?
FUN FACTS
- Walkingsticks regrow lost limbs.
- One species of walkingsticks has wings.
- Walkingsticks are not closely related to praying mantis, even though they have a similar appearance.
- The lifespan of a giant walkingstick in the wild is about two years.
