Betsy found this really cool stick insect this morning:

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Amy

Way to go Betsy, they are so cool looking!!!

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MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!

They are definately an oddity.
We were camping a couple of years ago in a pine forest and the darn things were everywhere!

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

A northern walking stick (Diapheromera femorata). Male I believe. Good find

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+5 bonus points to whoever finds me a job!

"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines." - John Benfield

Very cool.

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Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

OK, Matt, how do you know it's male? Those thingies on its behind? Give me some good vocabulary words so I can sound like I know what I'm talking about, lol! (The Latin name helps with that too -- thanks!)

It was right on our front door. Walking sticks and praying mantises seem to enjoy it there for some reason. (Maybe because I always forget and leave the porch light on, attracting insects for them to eat?)

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Amy

Awsome find!

Males of this species are thin and brown. Females are larger and have more of a green tint to them, so it's not as fancy of a sexing method as you may have hoped, lol. The thingies on it's behind are calle cerci though

Mantids would definately be attracted to porch insects, but stick insects eat the leaves of deciduous trees (picky eaters they are too!). In your area you'll see both Chinese mantids and the much smaller Carolina mantid. Technically speaking, the term "mantis" can only accurately be used for mantids in the genus Mantis. All other mantids are, well, mantids. But nobody really cares, lol, as both terms are often used. Chinese mantids are Tenodera sinensis and Carolina mantids are Stagmomantis carolina and they're very easy to tell apart.

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+5 bonus points to whoever finds me a job!

"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines." - John Benfield

Thanks, Matt!

"Technically speaking, the term "mantis" can only accurately be used for mantids in the genus Mantis. All other mantids are, well, mantids. But nobody really cares"

I think *somebody* cares!

We have BIG mantids on our porch. And once we had LOTS of tiny mantids in our house, because someone left the lid off the container that held the egg case, and they hatched! That was exciting.

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Amy

very cool! thanks for sharing.

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yes i am a she ^_^

~My Babies~

1 Rosy Boa (male) Chaos
1 Snow Corn (male) Blizzard
1 Anertherystic Corn (male) Bullet
1 Senegal Parrot (male) Shadow
2 dogs (male) Spot and Bear