African Twig Stick Insect vs Bee Killer Robber Fly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute African Twig Stick Insect Bee Killer Robber Fly
Scientific Name Clonopsis maroccana Mallophora bomboides
Order Phasmatodea Diptera
Family Bacillidae Asilidae
Size 50-70 mm 20-28 mm
Habitat Heathland Farmland
Diet Herbivores Herbivores
Regions West Africa (Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone) Eastern United States from New England to Florida
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

African Twig Stick Insect

A slender stick insect that mimics dry twigs with remarkable accuracy. It reproduces parthenogenetically, with females producing viable eggs without mating. Active at night when it feeds on foliage.

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Did You Know?

This species reproduces entirely without males in most populations, with females cloning themselves through parthenogenesis.

Bee Killer Robber Fly

A large fuzzy robber fly that closely resembles a bumble bee in both appearance and buzzing flight. It perches on vegetation and launches aerial attacks on passing insects.

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Did You Know?

Its bumble bee mimicry is so convincing that it can sit among real bees at flowers without being recognized as a predator.