The Two Striped Walking Stick (Anisomorpha buprestoides) (Stoll) is a common stick insect in Florida. There are a few other names that this insect is referred to, devil’s riding horse, prairie alligator, stick bug, witch’s horse, devil’s darning needle, scorpion, and musk mare. That last name was given to this species because of its capability to squirt a strong-smelling defensive spray that can painfully irritate the eyes and mucus membrane.
The Two Striped Walking Stick is large and stout (not a common physical trait of stick insects); it has three long black strips or two thick white strips, depending on how you look at them. Females are much larger measuring 67.7 mm in length while males are much smaller and slender measuring 41.7 mm.
Like any stick insects, these species are herbivores, feeding on the leaves of trees and shrubs. Not much is known about their life history, but many have observed that females will secrete her eggs on the ground, mainly during the Fall season. Stick insects will use their secretion if they perceive a threat, this occurs typically with physical contact.
These guys may be small but there have been studies that showed the effect the stick insects’ secretion can cause, it can be highly irritating to the eyes of both humans and animals and can cause excruciating pain.
Cool Fact! This species can be commonly found with the smaller male riding on top of the larger female.
Photo Credit: Dan Kon
Author: Destiny Alvarez – Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, University of Oregon 
