Book 4, Question 37
Why Do Some Bugs Look Like Sticks?
A walking stick is an insect that looks just like a twig! That costume is called camouflage, which means hiding by matching your background. If a hungry bird cannot tell lunch from a branch, the insect gets another day.
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 4
More fun facts
- Stick insects look like twigs, which makes them some of the best hiders on Earth.
- Some even sway back and forth like a twig moving in the wind.
- There are about 3,000 kinds of stick insects.
- They range from about half an inch long to giants about 13 inches long.
- Some female stick insects lay eggs that look like plant seeds.
- Fossils show stick insects were already disguising themselves as leaves about 126 million years ago.
Sources: National Wildlife Federation, National Geographic Kids, National Geographic, National Geographic
Questions kids ask
Why do stick insects look like sticks?
Looking like a twig hides them from birds and other hungry animals.