the.com/walkingstick
a bug that won an evolutionary staring contest with a twig and never blinked.
means An insect with a long, thin, twig-like body that camouflages itself among branches and foliage; also the name for a cane or staff used as a support while walking.
from A transparent English compound of "walking" and "stick" — the cane meaning came first, naming the literal stick you walk with, and the insect borrowed the name for the obvious reason that it looks like one. "Stick" descends from Old English "sticca" (a rod or twig), a cousin of "stick" the verb meaning to pierce or fix in place. The bug is also called a "stick insect," and in scientific Latin its order is Phasmatodea, from Greek "phasma," a phantom or apparition — fitting for a creature whose whole career is disappearing in plain sight.
- world record
- longest insect ever, over half a meter
- virgin birth
- females clone themselves without any males needed
- swaying act
- rocks gently to mimic a branch in wind
- regrow limbs
- young can regenerate lost legs while molting
- chemical defense
- some spray a foul mist to repel attackers
stick insect — phasmatodea order contains over 3,000 species that mimic twigs and branches
walking stick cane — traditional mobility aid used for centuries, popularized in victorian england as a fashion accessory