Transcript:

Today on Animal Fact Files we’re talking about walking sticks. Walking sticks are also known as stick insects, stick bugs, and even prairie alligators among other common names. Technically speaking, all leaf insects are also stick insects. Whether it’s commonly called a leaf or a stick, they’re both trying to blend in. Walking sticks are masters of camouflage. They often come in colors and shapes that match their host plant species - which we’ll be explaining in just a bit. These animals may be so well camouflaged that they can become nearly undetectable. That’s great news for a walking stick trying to avoid being eaten! Predators to walking sticks include birds, spiders, reptiles, and primates, though bats may be their number one predator.

Walking sticks are primarily nocturnal animals, just like bats! While colors and shapes can help a walking stick hide in similar looking foliage during the day, there’s no hiding from the echolocation some bat species use to find food. Walking sticks do, however, come with other means of defending themselves if caught by a hungry predator. Some walking stick species are able to let out an unpleasant substance making them taste or smell bad to a predator and can even cause temporary blindness! Other walking sticks are able to drop a limb or two which may regrow with time. Different species may play dead in order to fool a predator, and then there are some who may even strike out at a predator with spines. Currently there are more than 3,000 classified species of walking sticks, so they don’t all try to escape in the same ways.

Walking sticks are found worldwide, with the exception of Antarctica, but they have a preference for tropical and subtropical climates. These insects are found on their host plants such as trees or shrubs. A walking stick will spend most of its life on a host plant species: receiving not only protection and a living space from the plant but also food. Walking sticks are primarily herbivorous. Without predators, walking sticks have the potential to de-leaf an entire plant, and in some areas these animals are considered pests, but predators help to keep their numbers at bay. Not that they need massive populations to procreate - at least not all species.

In some walking stick species, all known individuals are females. Like the komodo dragons we’ve discussed previously, walking sticks can reproduce via parthenogenesis meaning males aren’t necessary to make babies. Of course, in other species, male walking sticks exist. The males are much smaller than the females who can reach more than one and a half feet (45.7 centimeters) in length in the largest species. For reference, that’s about the same length as Chester’s body.

Even walking stick eggs come camouflaged: they look like plant seeds. Female walking sticks will lay their eggs willy-nilly and the eggs may get lodged in the crevice of a leaf or even drop to the ground. The eggs may take just a few weeks to more than a year to hatch and it can take even longer for some species to reach adulthood, though the average lifespan for these animals is about a year.

For more facts on walking sticks, check out the links in the description. Give a thumbs up if you learned something new today, and thank you for watching Animal Fact Files.