"walking stick" insects

[Joseph Boxhorn]

grider at techwriter.org wrote:
> 
> Does anyone know what kind of insect is called a "walking stick"?
> 
> I've seen them in the Ozarks, up to five or six inches long, thin as a
> nail, with legs. (6?, 12?) Creepy things that make spiders appear
> friendly by comparison. .
> 
> A scientific name or even a phylum (arachnid, arthropod, ?)  would be
> a help.

They're in the order Orthoptera.  Spiders, with their eight beady
little eyes staring up at you and their vampirish feeding habits,
are way more creepy.  Like all adult insects, they have six legs.
IIAM, there are some species of these that reproduce
parthenogenically.

 
========================================================
Joseph Boxhorn                       jboxhorn at execpc.com
"Coffee does not make you nervous.  You own inadequacies
 do that.  Coffee just makes you aware of your 
 shortcomings."  -- Dr. Science
========================================================