Wildlife
Stick insects use camouflage and mimicry to great effect. As their name suggests, they look so much like sticks or other bits of plant that they blend effortlessly into their backgrounds as a form of defence. In some species the mimicry starts even before they are born, as their eggs resemble seeds.
Did you know?
Measuring more than half a metre, the Chan's megastick is the world's longest insect. It was discovered in 2008.
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Handy disguise
Stick insects fool ants into protecting their eggs.
Stick insects fool ants into protecting their eggs.
Prickly stick insect
A wildlife-unfriendly leylandii houses some female foreign imports.
A wildlife-unfriendly leylandii houses some female foreign imports.
Chan's megastick
The world's longest insect, discovered in the forest canopy in 2008.
At an impressive 567mm the Chan's megastick is the world's longest insect, discovered in the forest canopy in 2008.
Giant stick insect
Thought usually spotted being quite still, even these giants can fly.
George McGavin encounters the largest stick insect he has ever seen in the wild, caught by the boat manager of the camp. Stick Insects are rarely thought of as flying creatures, yet the large fan-like wings and smaller winglets higher up are clearly visible on this individual.
The Stick insects can be found in a number of locations including: Africa, Amazon Rainforest, Asia, Australia, Indian subcontinent, North America, South America. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.
The Phasmatodea (sometimes called Phasmida or Phasmatoptera) are an order of insects, whose members are variously known as stick insects (in Europe and Australasia), walking sticks or stick-bugs (in the United States and Canada), phasmids, ghost insects and leaf insects (generally the family Phylliidae). The ordinal name is derived from the Ancient Greek φάσμα phasma, meaning an apparition or phantom, and refers to the resemblance of many species to sticks or leaves. Their natural camouflage can make them extremely difficult to spot. Phasmatodea can be found all over the world in warmer zones, especially the tropics and subtropics. The greatest diversity is found in Southeast Asia and South America, followed by Australia. Phasmids also have a considerable presence in the continental United States, mainly in the Southeast.
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