Northern Walkingstick

The northern walkingstick is one of the most common and widespread stick insects in North America, found throughout deciduous forests of the eastern and central United States and southern Canada. Its long, thin, wingless body mimics a twig so effectively that it is rarely noticed even when in plain sight.

Adults feed at night on the foliage of hardwood trees such as oak, hazelnut, and wild cherry, spending the day motionless among branches. Occasional local population booms can lead to noticeable, though usually temporary, defoliation of host trees.

• Long, thin, wingless body resembling a twig
• Males roughly 7.5–9 cm long; females somewhat larger, up to about 9.5 cm
• Brownish-green to gray-brown coloration that closely matches bark and twigs
• Long, thread-like legs and antennae
• No wings in either sex, unlike many tropical stick insect species
• Told apart from other North American stick insects mainly by range and consistently wingless body

Found throughout deciduous forests and woodland edges of the eastern and central United States and southern Canada, especially in stands of oak, hazelnut, and cherry trees on which it feeds.

A strictly herbivorous insect that feeds at night on the leaves of oak, hazelnut, cherry, and other hardwood trees, remaining motionless during the day. Its primary defense is camouflage combined with stillness, and when disturbed it may sway gently like a twig moving in the wind rather than fleeing. Occasional population outbreaks can cause locally visible defoliation of host trees, contributing to its role as a minor forest pest in some years.

Females drop small, seed-like eggs individually to the forest floor in late summer and fall. Eggs typically overwinter, and some may take two winters to hatch. Nymphs resemble miniature wingless adults and molt through several instars over the summer, reaching adulthood by late summer. There is generally one generation per year, though delayed egg hatching can extend this in some populations.