stick insect

American  

noun

1. walking stick.

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stick insect British  

noun

1. Also called (US and Canadian): walking stick.  any of various mostly tropical insects of the family Phasmidae that have an elongated cylindrical body and long legs and resemble twigs: order Phasmida See also leaf insect

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Etymology

Origin of stick insect

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

The feisty Lord Howe Island stick insect crawling on the gloved hand of Kyle Kassel, a keeper at the San Diego Zoo, had no idea that he shouldn’t exist.

From New York Times

Gompert and colleagues report evidence of repeatable evolution in populations of stick insects in the May 24, 2024, online edition of the American Association for the Advancement of Science's journal Science Advances.

From Science Daily

The team also moved stick insects around in the field to manipulate the ratio of green-to-stripey morphs and investigate what drives these cycles.

From Science Magazine

Most species of stick insects are flightless, yet they are distributed over wide distances and across geographical features that would impede the expansion of flightless animals.

From Science Daily

The experiments involved the researchers keeping the body of the stick insects fixed, and electrically stimulating one out of the three leg muscles to produce walking-like movements.

From Science Daily