Common walkingstick

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title: "Common walkingstick" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["phasmatodea", "insects-of-north-america", "insects-described-in-1824"] description: "Species of stick insect" topic_path: "general/phasmatodea" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_walkingstick" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Species of stick insect ::

| image = Northern Walkingstick (Diapheromera femorata) (21144673140).jpg |image_alt=Brown insect with long green legs, first pair outstretched and appressed to the small head |status=G4 |status_system=TNC |status_ref= | genus = Diapheromera | species = femorata | authority = (Say, 1824) |synonyms=*Diapheromera betulla (Taylor, 1862)

• Diapheromera laevissimus (Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1907)
• Diapheromera linearis (Gosse, 1859)
• Diapheromera sayi Gray, 1835
• Spectrum betulla Taylor, 1862
• Bacunculus laevissimus Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1907 |synonyms_ref= ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Northern_Walkingstick.tif" alt="Light brown insect with splayed, widely spaced legs"] ::

The common walkingstick or northern walkingstick (Diapheromera femorata) is a species of phasmid or stick insect found across North America. The average length of this species is 75 mm for males and 95 mm for females.

The insect is found in deciduous forest throughout North America, where it eats many types of plant foliage. Even though the common walkingstick is a generalist it does tend to prefer foliage from oak and hazelnut trees. Localised clusters of these insects sometimes occur; however, the insects have no wings, and dispersal from tree to tree is limited.

Description

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Diapheromera_femorata_mating.jpg" caption="A pair of mating ''D. femorata'' in the Hudson Highlands region of New York" alt="Insects on tree trunk, glossy brown individual clasping a mottled gray, camouflaged partner using terminal appendages, its posterior abdomen twisting to reach the ventral side of the other"] ::

The common walkingstick is a slender, elongated insect that camouflages itself by resembling a twig. The sexes differ, with the male usually being brown and about 75 mm in length while the female is greenish-brown, and rather larger at 95 mm. There are three pairs of legs, but at rest, the front pair is extended forward beside the antennae, forming an extension of the twig-like effect. Neither sex has wings, the antennae are two-thirds of the length of the body, and each of the cerci (paired appendages at the tip of the abdomen) has a single segment.

Distribution

The walkingstick is native to North America. Its range extends from the Atlantic coast from Maine to Florida, as far west as California and northwards to North Dakota. It also occurs in Canada (where it is the only stick insect) being present in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Québec.

Ecology

D. femorata is herbivorous, feeding mainly on the leaves of trees. They are leaf skeletonisers, eating the tissues between the leaf veins, pausing for a while and then walking on to new leaves. They can feed at any time of day but the greatest feeding activity has been noted between 9pm and 3am. Early-stage nymphs are often found on American hazel (Corylus americana) and black cherry (Prunus serotina), but where these are scarce, they are likely to be on white oak (Quercus alba). Older individuals may choose black oak (Quercus velutina).

The stick insect life cycle is hemimetabolous, proceeding through a series of nymphal stages. Breeding takes place in late summer after the nymph has moulted for the last time and become an adult. Egg-laying takes place about a week after mating and the eggs, measuring 2.5 mm across, are dropped singly to the forest floor.

References

References

1. NatureServe. (1 November 2025). "''Diapheromera femorata''". NatureServe.
2. (2025). "species ''Diapheromera (Diapheromera) femorata'' (Say, 1824)".
3. {{GBIF
4. Wirth, Chris. (31 December 2011). "Species ''Diapheromera femorata'': Northern Walkingstick". Iowa State University Entomology.
5. Baker, E.. (2015). "The worldwide status of stick insects (Insecta: Phasmida) as pests of agriculture and forestry, with a generalised theory of phasmid outbreaks". Agriculture and Food Security.
6. "''Diapheromera femorata'': common walkingstick". Florida Nature.
7. (2011). "''Diapheromera femorata'': Common American Walkingstick". University of Michigan.
8. Dunn, Gary A.. (1996). "Insects of the Great Lakes Region". University of Michigan Press.
9. (1950). "Insect Enemies of Eastern Forests". U.S. Government Printing Office.

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