The Life Cycle of a Walking Stick Bug

Egg

• Like all insects, walking sticks start life out as an egg. Even at this early stage, they are masters of camouflage: their eggs resemble plant seeds. Depending on species and climate, the eggs can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months to hatch. In particularly cold climates, they have been known to wait up to two years.

  Some walking stick eggs have a remarkable adaptation to protect them from cold winters. The top of the egg sports a little nob called a capitulum, which amazingly, is attractive to ants. The ants will carry the eggs to their underground nests, where the eggs can safely wait out the winter. Once the weather warms up, the tiny walking sticks head for the trees.

Nymph

• Walking stick hatchlings are called nymphs. Much like newly sprouted twigs, most nymphs start out their lives as pale green in color, and darken to a bark-like brown as they mature. Nymphs resemble tiny versions of adult walking sticks, and do not go through any major metamorphosis.

  Nymphs grow through a process called molting, where they shed their outer skin as they get bigger. They have been known to eat their own molt casings once they break free of them. The average nymph will molt between four to eight times before becoming full-grown.

  The world can be a dangerous place for a fragile nymph. Luckily, they are able to regrow their limbs during the molting process. Once they reach full size, however, they lose this ability.

Adulthood

• While most walking sticks rely solely on their clever camouflage to escape predators, some species have acquired unique defenses, which they develop as they reach maturity. Some have sharp spines on their front legs; others can shoot irritating liquid at anything that gets too close. Most, however, are content to simply blend in with the surrounding foliage. They have been known to play dead for hours if they are startled or touched.

Mating and Reproduction

• For many species of walking sticks, reproduction is a one-bug affair. These species are entirely female, and reproduce through a process called parthenogenesis. They do not require external fertilization of their eggs. The offspring hatches as an exact copy of the female that produced them.

  Some walking sticks do mate in male-female pairs. They have been known to hang together for hours during the mating process. Within about two weeks of mating, the female will lay hundreds of eggs. While some species bury their eggs, most of the time they simply flick them from the branches onto the ground below, where the life-cycle begins again.

Lifespan

• The average lifespan of a walking stick varies. It can be anywhere from several months, up to about two years. They do not die after reproducing, and if they are lucky, can mate more than once.