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Sticker of Two-striped walkingstick
Bug card No. 1389 of 1,500

Two-striped walkingstick

Anisomorpha buprestoides
Name means: “it is called devil rider because the small male usually rides on the back of the big female”
Eats: PlantsStick and leaf insectsForests and woods6 legs

The two-striped walkingstick is a chunky brown stick insect with long black stripes down its back. The little male often rides piggyback on the much bigger female. When it feels threatened, it squirts a strong smelly spray from the front of its body.

Lives in
The southeastern United States
Length
4.2 to 6.8 cm (1.7 to 2.7 in)
males are about 4 cm, females about 7 cm
Top speed
about 0.18 km/h (0.11 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Can bite or sting
Its spray is very strong and can sting, especially in the eyes. Watch it, but do not pick it up or put your face close to it.
What does it eat?
Like other stick insects it eats leaves.
For real!Photo of Two-striped walkingstick
Picture by Bugenstein at English Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Two-striped walkingstick about 6.8 cm long (2.7 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)A banana about 18 cm (7.1 in)
as long as 2 toy building bricks in a rowcould run across a dinner table in 20 seconds

How big is Two-striped walkingstick compared to YOU?

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How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Its spray comes from two little holes at the front of its body, just behind the head.

2

There are three colour forms: brown with light stripes, black with white stripes, and an orange one.

3

The black-and-white and orange forms live only in small parts of Florida.

4

Pictures of it have been on the front covers of science magazines.

you asked

Most asked questions about Two-striped walkingstick

?Is the two-striped walkingstick dangerous?

It does not bite, but its strong spray can really sting if it gets in your eyes. Look, but do not pick it up.

?How big is the two-striped walkingstick?

Females are about 7 centimetres long. Males are smaller and thinner, about 4 centimetres.

?Why is it called the devil rider?

Because the small male usually rides around on the female's back.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Anisomorpha buprestoides
Group
Stick and leaf insects
Family
Pseudophasmatidae
Classification
Insecta > Phasmatodea > Pseudophasmatidae
Lives on
North America
Also known as
Southern two-striped walkingstick, Devil rider, Musk mare

Where the facts come from

  1. Anisomorpha buprestoides (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Bugenstein at English Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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