Unarmed stick-insect

Acanthoxyla inermis · Order: Phasmida · Family: Phasmatidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Unarmed stick-insect
Photo: Grey Smith, CC BY

Adult Acanthoxyla inermis can reach about 10 cm in length and have a thin, twig-like body with three pairs of slender limbs. They are typically green, brown or yellow and live on trees where they feed on leaves.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Their colour ranges from green to brown or yellow and the body texture varies accordingly.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Adults can grow up to about 10 cm long.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

They spend most of their lives on trees, feeding on leaves in relative safety. Originally from New Zealand, they have established a stable population in Great Britain.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Their diet consists mainly of tree leaves.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

They develop by incomplete metamorphosis, molting several times as they grow. Adults lay eggs that are dropped to the ground or placed in suitable substrate.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Acanthoxyla inermis is native to New Zealand.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

Unarmed stick-insect photo 2
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0
Unarmed stick-insect photo 3
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0
Unarmed stick-insect photo 4
Photo: strewick, CC BY
Unarmed stick-insect photo 5
Photo: Colin Meurk, CC BY-SA

Questions people ask

What do Acanthoxyla inermis eat?

They feed on the leaves of trees where they live.

Source: Wikipedia

Where does this stick insect come from?

It is native to New Zealand and has been introduced to Great Britain.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Phasmatidae)

Smooth Stick InsectSmooth Stick InsectClitarchus hookeriMargin-winged Stick InsectMargin-winged Stick InsectCtenomorpha marginipennisDamages trees, gardens or cropsPrickly Stick InsectPrickly Stick InsectAcanthoxyla prasinaDamages trees, gardens or cropsSpur Legged PhasmidSpur Legged PhasmidDidymuria violescensSpiny Leaf insectSpiny Leaf insectExtatosoma tiaratumCan biteTitan Stick InsectTitan Stick InsectAcrophylla titan

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acanthoxyla_inermis

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

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