This infatuated pair of insects are walking sticks, and I found them clinging to my screen door. Trick or treating, perhaps?
This is the most common species, Anisomorpha buprestoides, the Southern Two-Striped Walking Stick, and as you can see here one is much larger than the other.
The females are large; the males are the small ones. This time of year, if you find a female, then you most likely have a male riding along. It is very rare to see an unaccompanied female.
I don’t recommend handling them because if the feel alarmed they may squirt you with a milky-looking chemical spray from glands just behind the head.
It is said to hurt quite a bit, but I haven’t run into anyone who has ever been squirted because frankly, there aren’t too many folks these days who have even seen one. The spray is no joke- it not only hurts but it also can potentially blind you, if only temporarily. They can squirt this substance from 2 or 3 feet away and they aim for the eyes. Reportedly it can take from 5 to 10 days to recover, and I for one don’t want to spend that much time being unable to paint.
The stick bug needs this defense system in case their camouflage isn’t good enough- they are very slow and flightless and without the chemicals have no real defense or way to escape.
They feed on oaks, mostly, but do not do them harm, so there is nothing to worry about if you see them on your trees, and no need to spray.
They are just minding their own business, all you need do is mind your own and marvel at these interesting creatures. Don’t provoke them into firing any chemical shots, because they might need the spray they have to avoid becoming some bird’s dinner.