The Good, the Bad, & the Buggy

You thought you had it bad. Imagine your home completely flooded and collapsed, having to carry whatever food you have on your back and having to find a new place to live? That's what I wondered while watching a colony of ants trailing across my front porch.

Yikes - all fine and good but I don't have rooms to sublet in my house. That's when I started wondering "What other critters are out and about cause of all the recent rain and what's the best way to keep them out of my house?

I decided it was a good time to get outside and look around (especially before the mosquitoes hatch). First thing I came across on my back porch was a Walking Stick bug. The nationalgeographic.com site also calls these "Stick Insects" with interesting fact:

l Fast Facts

• Type: Bug
• Diet: Herbivore
• Average life span in the wild: Up to 3 years
• Size: 0.46 to 12.9 in (11.6 to 328 mm)
• Did you know? Stick insects are part of the Phasmida order, the name of which is derived from a Greek word meaning “apparition.”

Size relative to a tea cup:

I often come across these fun to find insects in the nursery. Beck and Garrett's Texas Bug Book (2000, p. 149) notes that walking sticks are harmless to humans and more interesting than destructive. They go onto list other Walking Stick attributes.

• Habitat: Fruit trees, grassy vegetation, shrubs and trees.
• Feeding Habits: Plant feeders, mostly at night.
• Natural Control: Parasitic wasp, flies and birds.  

What experience have you had with this bug?