Stick insects Walking sticks Bug sticks These names are all based on the fact that the stick bug’s long body resembles a living stick or the stalk of a leaf. This body style is a form of ...

A team of biologists in Montana and Germany has found that, regardless of type, those insects that express a protective stick- or leaf-like appearance all evolved the same basic body parts.

"Phasmids (stick and leaf insects) exemplify the extraordinary power of natural selection to shape organismal phenotypes," the team explained in their study. "The animals themselves are ...