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

Order Phasmida - Walkingsticks

Which Walking Stick ? - Pseudosermyle straminea Walkingstick - Diapheromera femorata Northern Walking Stick - Diapheromera femorata - male Common Walkingstick (Diapheromera femorata) - Immature - Diapheromera femorata - male Timema boharti, Kwaymii Point, Laguna Mountains, CA - Timema boharti - female Timema sp. Pair - Timema - male - female Walking stick - male 9/7/19 insect - Diapheromera femorata - 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 Jacobson & Bianchi 1902, Phasmatoptera, Cheleutoptera Crampton 1915
used to be treated as part of a broadly defined Orthoptera; molecular data places this group closest to the Notoptera—Embiidina lineage(1)
Explanation of Names
Phasmida Leach 1815
from Greek phasma (φασμα) 'apparition, phantom'
Numbers
29 spp. in 10 genera in our area(2), ca. 3000 worldwide(3); 16 spp. in 6 genera in TX(4)
Identification
Recent revision: (5)
Range
Largely tropical, mostly Oriental(2); in NA, much more diverse in the South, scarcely represented in the North
Habitat
Usually on trees/shrubs
Food
herbivorous
Internet References
Texas walkingsticks (Quinn 2012)
(6)
Works Cited
1.Phylogenomics resolves the timing and pattern of insect evolution
Bernhard Misof et al. 2014. Science Vol. 346, 763.
2.American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico
Ross H. Arnett. 2000. CRC Press.
3.Brock P.D. Phasmida species file online. Version 5.0
4.Texas Walkingstick Information, by Mike Quinn
5.Stick Insects of the Continental United States and Canada
Chad Arment. 2006. Coachwhip Publications.
6.Conle O., Hennemann F. (2000-2013) phasmatodea.com -- The world of stick insects
Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 16 February, 2004 - 12:32pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Beatriz Moisset, Mike Quinn, David Ferguson, ceiseman, v belov, Marci Hess
Last updated 31 July, 2024 - 6:08pm

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