Aotearoa New Zealand’s stick insects belong to the order Phasmatodea, comprising almost 3000 species worldwide, with most diversity around the tropics.  

In Aotearoa New Zealand’s temperate climate, we have more than 20 described species of stick insect. 

The name phasmatid (or, sometimes, phasmid) means phantom, a reference to the way stick insects tend to disappear into their surroundings.  

Stick insects are surprisingly common in Aotearoa New Zealand and can be found from coastal vegetation to the high-alpine zone, although many species are poorly known because of their cryptic appearance and nocturnal habits. 

All Aotearoa New Zealand species are flightless and completely lack wings. Elsewhere, some species have wings, though few can actually fly. In some species, just the males fly. 

Aotearoa New Zealand’s longest insect species is Argosarchus horridus that can reach 20 cm in length but is dwarfed compared with stick insects found in some other countries. For example, in Australia the longest species can reach 25 cm in length, and there are two species from the Malay Peninsula, both of which have been measured at around 35 cm long.  

Despite their size and sometimes fearsome appearance, none of our stick insects can inflict a painful bite or sting.  

Stick insects have no ears and can’t make any sound, but they have reasonable eyesight, for they quite often leap away when you reach out to catch them.  

The wings of some species mimic leaves, down to the pattern of veins. Other species have the bright colours and appearance of wasps. 

Aotearoa New Zealand stick insects, like all phasmatids, are foliage feeders. Many of our stick insects have restricted food requirements, feeding on just a few plant species.  

For instance, species in the genus Clitarchus rarely feed on anything other than mānuka and kānuka. In contrast, species in the genus Acanthoxyla consume the widest range of food plants of any local stick insects, not just native trees and shrubs either; they have been observed on introduced species like roses, cypress trees, and pines, as well as a host of native trees and shrubs.  

Stick insects often wander away from food foliage to rest during the day, sometimes turning up on the walls of houses or outbuildings, where they are much more visible than on vegetation. 

Spotting stick insects is often a matter of training your brain and eyes to distinguish their shape.  

Legs jutting out at unusual angles compared to twigs is often what gives them away.  

Reproduction varies between species. Acanthoxyla has no males so always reproduces parthenogenically. Other genera, such as Clitarchus and Argosarchus, can reproduce with or without males. In some populations males have never been found, while in others, males are as common as females.

Stick insects are not as common in Aotearoa New Zealand as previously.  

They are subject to a multitude of predators. Introduced birds prey on them, including chaffinches and yellowhammers feeding stick insects to nestlings, and blackbirds, thrushes, silvereyes and house sparrows, all of which feed abundantly on insects, both on the ground and among the foliage of trees and bushes. Native birds like moreporks prey on them, too.

Then there are the numerous introduced mammalian predators—possums, rats, mice and mustelids (stoats, weasels, ferrets)—all of which devour insects. 

Stick insects need all the camouflage they can muster! 

To celebrate the insect orders and many of our stick insects found in Otago, we worked with biologist Samuel Purdie to produce posters.  

Please feel free to share these posters around, and you can download and print them out to raise awareness about Otago’s insects, including stick insects.   

In Otago we have six species of stick insects. A species list can be downloaded below.  

To find out more about other species in Otago, visit our Explore Otago’s species and Otago’s unique species websites.  

To find out more about wētā, cave wētā, crickets and grasshoppers in Aotearoa New Zealand, visit the Wētā Conservation Charitable Trust or Wētā getter websites. To contribute observation records on wētā, cave wētā, crickets and grasshoppers to a participatory science platform, visit the iNaturalist platform. 

www.orc.govt.nz/stickinsect