Walkingsticks may not be the most beautiful or colorful of insects, but they are very interesting. This is true of the Southern two-striped walkingstick (Anisomorpha buprestoides), just like all the other species (there are around 3000 types in the world). One of the coolest things about them is that the males are very much smaller than the females. Once a pair decides to breed, they stay together for the rest of their lives. It’s not at all uncommon to see the smaller males riding on the back of the female. In fact, in the fall it’s unusual to see one sex without the other. A couple years ago, I found a single female in my bathroom, and I had to wonder what had happened to her mate. This pair was outside my dog house when I spotted them on a warm fall morning. Unlike the one in the bathroom, except for taking some photos, I left them alone. By the time I got home in the afternoon, they had moved on.