The hardy Northern Walking Stick can make an interesting pet for people that are able to supply it with food. These insects, with their incredible camouflage, can make quiet and docile, not to mention fascinating, pets. Stick insects are also known as phasmids. The word phasmid comes from the order Phasmatodea.
In the wild, Northern Walking Sticks are most commonly found on vegetation. They usually live on the plants that they eat. Northern Walking Sticks should have a stick that they can hang from during molting. In captivity, their enclosures should be decorated with plenty of sticks or plants to climb or feed on. The enclosure should have a secure lid, since Northern Walking Sticks have amazing climbing abilities. Because Northern Walking Sticks are rather docile vegetarians, they can be kept in groups or with other insects, so long as the other insects do not attack them. To defend itself, the Northern Walking Stick will secrete a foul smelling substance when it feels threatened.
By maturity, most Northern Walking Sticks grow to between three and four inches long. They are very slender and from a distance look just like twigs. They are very well camouflaged and it can be very difficult to distinguish a Northern Walking Stick from the plant it is resting on. At maturity, females often have a glossy, hard appearance like polished wood. Many are yellowish green, although some are shaded with tan or pink hints. When a Northern Walking Stick is injured, it can usually regenerate a limb or heal its injury by the time it molts again.
Northern Walking Sticks are native to North America, inhabiting areas of the United States and Canada. They are one of the few non-tropical species of Walking Stick and can be collected from the wild in North America to be kept captive, with no legal repercussions.
Usually, adults can be kept in tanks between five and fifteen gallons in volume. For a single Northern Walking Stick, the smaller enclosures may be better, though the larger enclosures should be used to house multiple insects. The temperature should remain between 75 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit with a humidity level between 70 and 80 percent. A peat or soil substrate can be used and should cover two to three inches of height in the bottom of the enclosure, and, because Northern Walking Sticks are arboreal, the enclosure should be vertically oriented. Simple substrates like newspaper can also be used. Plenty of climbing opportunities should be provided. They can be kept in groups. Before obtaining a Northern Walking Stick, you should be sure that you can provide a food supply for it. This could mean planting several plants in a greenhouse or yard. Because Northern Walking Sticks eat rose, oak, and apple leaves, it could be difficult to feed them from wild plants in winter. Also, if one shipment of food is lost or unavailable, your insect could die.
Most Northern Walking Sticks will breed readily in captivity. Some Walking Stick species may need a soil or sandy area where they can deposit their eggs, while others simply scatter eggs over the floor. Usually, eggs should be placed in a separate container from the adults. Eggs are normally gray striped over a glossy black background, and the nymphs that hatch from them are light green. In the wild, baby Northern Walking Sticks feed on low-lying vegetation such as raspberry, black cherry, and sassafras leaves. They should not be handled, and, as they grow, they could become overcrowded and may need to be separated into more than one enclosure.
It has been reported that Northern Walking Sticks can reproduce without a mate.
