Species Anisomorpha buprestoides - Southern Two-striped Walkingstick

Anisomorpha buprestoides (Stoll)

Orig. Comb: Phasma buprestoides Stoll 1813

2 spp.

40-80 mm

Three color forms, two of them only found in limited areas:

White form, only found around Ocala National Forest

Orange form, only found around Archbold Biological Station

Brown form, widely distributed and commonly found throughout the entire range of the species

se US (TX-FL-SC) (Thomas, 2003)

Year round in FL (BG data)

Sprays a milky white chemical of terpene isomers with good accuracy and over a considerable distance to ward off predators.(1)

Albert, R.O. 1947. Another case of injury to the human eye by the Walking Stick, Anisomorpha (Phasmidae). Entomological News 58(3): 57-59.

Carlberg, U. 1985. Chemical defence in Anisomorpha buprestoides (Houttuyn in Stoll') (Insecta: Phasmida). Zool. Anz. Jena 215: 177-188.

Davidson, B.S., T. Eisner, & J. Meinwald. 1991. 3,4 Didehydro-â,â,-caroten-2-one, a new carotinoid from the eggs of a stick insect Anisomorpha buperestoides. Tetrahedron Letters 32: 5651-5654.

Hetrick, L. A. 1949. Field notes on a color variant of the two-striped walkingstick, Anisomorpha buprestoides (Stoll). Florida Entomologist 32(2): 74-77.

Hetrick L.A. 1949. The oviposition of the two-striped walking-stick, Anisomorpha buprestoides (Stoll). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 51: 103-104.

Littig, K.S. 1942. External Anatomy of the Florida Walking Stick Anisomorpha buprestoides Stoll. The Florida Entomologist 25(3):33-41.

MacAtee, W.L. 1918. Vaporous discharge by Anisomorpha buprestoides (Orthoptera: Phasmidae). Entomological News 29: 388.

Paysse, E.A., S. Holder & D.K. Coats. 2001. Ocular injury from the venom of the southern walkingstick. Ophthalmology 108: 190-191

Oskar V. Conle, Frank H. Hennemann, and Aaron T. Dossey, Survey of the Color Forms of the Southern Twostriped Walkingstick (Phasmatodea: Areolatae: Pseudophasmatidae: Pseudophasmatinae: Anisomorphini), With Notes on Its Range, Habitats, and Behaviors, (2009), Ann Entomol Soc Am , 102, (2), 210-232. (Full PDF)

Featured Creatures - Michael C. Thomas, 2003

Texas Walkingstick Information - Mike Quinn, 2012