Commonly Elusive - A Brief Overview of Diapheromera Femorata

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“In actual fact, Mr. Blakely and I did make one very interesting find.” The ship's doctor said, while offering the captain a fragment of a bush. “Is that right?” The captain took the proffered branch with interest. “Let me guess - a stick?” 

The doctor smiled. “Tell him about it, Blakely.”

“It’s a rare phasmid, sir.”

“A phasmid?” The captain inquired. 

“It’s an insect that disguises itself as a stick, in order to confuse its predators.” 

In a fascinating scene from the acclaimed film Master and Commander, the British vessel Surpise’s doctor Stephen Maturin and officer Charles Blakely show Captain Jack Aubrey a phasmid specimen they had collected on the Galapagos Islands during a stop for the ship’s replenishing and maintenance. The experience gives Jack an idea to disguise his ship as a whaler, leading to the eventual capture of his quarry, the dangerous heavy frigate and French privateer Acheron.


Commander Blakely and Doctor Stephen Maturin show Captain Jack Aubrey their find


The qualities of the phasmid (Diapheromera Femorata), used so effectively during the Napoleonic Wars as a sea battle stratagem, were perfectly described by Commander Blakely - an insect with features almost exactly alike to a stick. Commonly referred to as a ‘Stick Bug’ or ‘Walking Stick Bug,’ the Common Walking Stick belongs to the family Diapheromeridae, of the order Phasmatodea. This insect is closely related to Orthopteran insects, and is found in primarily tropical areas. Insects in the order Phasmatodea are hemimetabolous, meaning that they go through incomplete metamorphosis. The stick bug’s exoskeleton is knobby, irregular, and a mottled brown or green color, with uniform coloration all over the insect’s body. This coloration lends to the bug’s ability to hide in plain sight, blending perfectly into the canopy in which it lives and reproduces. 


The Common Walkingstick (Diapheromera Femorata)


The life cycle of a stick bug begins in the late summer, after nymphs have fully matured into adults. The phasmid typically lays its eggs on forest floors indiscriminately, leaving them in the leaf litter over the winter. However, there is a fascinating mutualistic relationship between these eggs and ants. Ants will take the eggs to their nests, where they are safe from predators, and provide the ants with edible excretions. After hatching, the phasmid enters a nymph form, growing and molting into an adult over a period of 4 months. Femorata are herbivorous creatures, feeding on black cherry (Prunus serotina), American hazel (Corylus americana), white oak (Quercus alba), black oak (Quercus velutina), and black locust (Robinia Pseudoacacia). They tend to spend all their time in the higher canopy of these trees, eating and growing to maturity. Variation within the phasmid order is fairly wide, with some phasmids appearing more like leaves than sticks (Extatosoma tiaratum), and others measuring over 2 feet long (Phoebaeticus Chani). Phasmids also make good pets, with the common walkingstick and the spiny leaf phasmid being the most popular species.


A Diapheromera Femorata egg

  In addition to its incredibly effective camouflage, the stick bug also has several other defense mechanisms. Phasmids have the ability to voluntarily lose limbs if snatched by predators, and nymphs have the ability to regrow lost limbs during molting. Some species of phasmids can also excrete a chemical spray that deters attacking birds, opting to spray them with this tear-gas-like mixture in a surprising and effective counter attack. All these incredible features makes the Phasmid a fascinating insect, lending is a well-known reputation that has stretched all the way back to naturalists and commanders on British ships in the 19th century. 


https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/84286-Diapheromera-femorata

https://phasmidstudygroup.org/index.php/phasmids

https://www.popsci.com/introducing-worlds-longest-insect/

Marshall, S. A. (2017). Insects: Their natural history and Diversity: With a photographic guide to insects of Eastern North America. Firefly Books.

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