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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Walkingsticks (Phasmida)

Order Phasmida - Walkingsticks

Timema sp. - Timema - female Walking Stick - Diapheromera carolina - male Phasmida Creek bug 091914 - Anisomorpha - male - female Phasmid - Carausius morosus Stick-like bug? - Megaphasma denticrus - male Phasmids - Diapheromera - male - female Megaphasma denticrus - male
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Phasmida (Walkingsticks)
Other Common Names
stick insects, sticks, devil's riding horse, prairie alligator, witch's horse, devil's darning needle, musk mare (Thomas 2003)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Phasmatodea, Phasmatoptera, Cheleutoptera
in the past, this group has been subsumed into various other orders, e.g. treated as a [super]family within a broadly defined Orthoptera. Currently the two are treated as closely related but separate orders; the latest molecular data places it closest to the Notoptera—Embiidina lineage(1)
Explanation of Names
from Greek phasma (φασμα) 'apparition, phantom'(2)
Numbers
29 spp. in 10 genera in our area (3), ca. 3000 worldwide(4); 16 spp. in 6 genera in TX(5)
Identification
Body and legs very long and slender; no wings in our spp. (one species in Florida has very short wings, many exotic forms are fully winged)
Recent revision:(6)
Range
Largely tropical, mostly Oriental(3); in NA, much more diverse in the South, scarcely represented in the North
Habitat
Usually found on trees or shrubs
Food
herbivorous
Internet References
Texas walkingsticks (Quinn 2012)
(7)(8)
Works Cited
1.Phylogenomics resolves the timing and pattern of insect evolution
Bernhard Misof et al. 2014. Science Vol. 346, 763.
2.The Century Dictionary: an encyclopedic lexicon of the English language
3.American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico
Ross H. Arnett. 2000. CRC Press.
4.Brock P.D. Phasmida species file online. Version 5.0
5.Texas Walkingstick Information, by Mike Quinn
6.Stick Insects of the Continental United States and Canada
Chad Arment. 2006. Coachwhip Publications.
7.Conle O., Hennemann F. (2000-2013) phasmatodea.com -- The world of stick insects
8.Phasmids of North America
Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 16 February, 2004 - 12:32pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Beatriz Moisset, Mike Quinn, David Ferguson, ceiseman, v belov
Last updated 16 December, 2014 - 9:07am

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