Stick bug porn
– they were getting busy and then dropped from
the trees on us!
(Photo and caption by Teresa Willis)
NO QUICKIES IN THESE STICKIES
As we marched in sync down the trail
on an early fall morning, it seemed small sticks were falling from the trees
and landing on our heads. We couldn’t
figure out why this was happening because there was no wind. We finally discovered it was walking stick
insects. We took a closer look at what
was going on with the walking sticks. To
our surprise, there were many of them and we were pretty sure they were mating.
They were everywhere and taking care of
business. Our childlike curiosity had us
watching them until our adult minds kicked in and we felt like we were watching
a peep show and invading their privacy.
We continued to hike but the walking sticks were not bothered by us and
continued taking care of business. After
a little googling, we found out that there are no quickies in these stickies
act of mating. When
mating, male and female walking sticks may remain coupled for several hours,
several days or sometimes even weeks. That
explains why they were falling out of trees on us because they were tired. Another interesting fact is that female
stick insects are able to reproduce entirely without males. Unmated females
produce eggs that become more females. When a male does manage to mate with a
female, there’s a 50/50 chance their offspring will be male. We also learned that should a bird or other
predator grab hold of its leg it can make an easy escape. Using a special muscle to break it off at a weak joint, they simply shed
the leg in a defensive strategy known as autotomy. Juvenile stick insects regenerate the missing
limb the next time they molt, which is shed their old shell, to make way for a new growth. In some cases, adult stick insects can even
force themselves to molt in order to regain a lost leg.
Stick
insects often go unnoticed, unless they are falling out of trees, because they
are camouflaged with their appearance as a stick. They're typically brown,
black, or green, with thin, stick-shaped bodies that help them blend in as they
perch on twigs and branches. Some stick insects exhibit lichen-like markings to
make their camouflage more authentic and make their disguise more complete. Stick insects imitate twigs swaying in the
wind by rocking back and forth as they move. These amazing bugs are
hard to spot because they look so much like twigs—until those twigs get up and
walk away, that is. Some stick insects can change color, like a chameleon,
depending on the background. Stick
insects may also wear bright colors on their wings but keep these flamboyant
features tucked away. When a bird or other predator approaches, the stick
insect flashes its vibrant wings, then hides them again, leaving the predator
confused and unable to relocate its target. All walking sticks are
herbivores. One of the reasons that they look like sticks is so they can graze
on the leaves of their preferred trees in peace. They are an important food
source for other animals — some of which eat them, while others eat their
droppings, which come from their hardy digestive tract's ability to break down
certain tough leaves. Birds, bats, reptiles, spiders and small mammals enjoy
walking stick adult as a meal.
Stick insects aren't venomous but if threatened, they will regurgitate
a nasty substance to put a bad taste in a hungry predator's mouth, ooze
foul-smelling blood from joints in their body, some large, tropical stick
insects may use their leg spines, which help them climb, to inflict pain on an
enemy and some direct a chemical spray, much like tear gas, at the offender.
When all else fails, they play dead. A threatened stick insect will drop from
wherever it's perched, fall to the ground, and stay very still. A bird
or mouse may be unable to find the insect on the ground or prefer living prey
and move on.
The stick insects we saw on our Ouachita Trail hike were all
about 2 inches long. There has been
reports in different parts of the world of some being 21 inches. Around the world, there have been more than
3,000 species of walking stick bugs identified.
I am not sure how many species are on the Ouachita Trail and probably
won’t ever know. Hopefully, each year
when I visit the trail for a hike, I get see a few because they are fun to
watch as they sway and stagger a long their way. They
really don’t seem to mind if we are curious and get up close and personal. In my opinion, there is nothing creepy about
this insect.
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