walking stick or stick insect, names applied to extremely longbodied, slow-moving, herbivorous insects, forming a single family in the order Phasmatodea. Walking sticks have green, gray, or brown bodies that closely resemble twigs or grass stems. Most are wingless and have long antennae. They range from less than 1 in. to over 1 ft (2-33 cm) in length, thus including the longest insects in the world. The winged forms have two pairs of wings; the hind wings are often colored. Their excellent camouflage protects them from predators; in addition, walking sticks can emit a foul-smelling substance as a means of defense. Some tropical species bear sharp spines resembling thorns. Walking sticks, unlike most insects, have the ability to regenerate lost limbs. Their eggs, which look like seeds, are deposited randomly on the ground; these often pass two winters before hatching in the spring. The young resemble the adults but are smaller. Although principally tropical and Asian in distribution, walking sticks are also found in temperate regions of Europe and North America. One species, Megaphasma dentricus, is the longest insect in the United States, attaining a length of 7 in. (17.5 cm). Walking sticks are classified in the phylum Arthropoda, class Insecta, order Phasmatodea, family Phasmidae. See also leaf insect.

walking fish: see climbing perch.

or walking leaf

Any of about 25 species of flat green insects (family Phylliidae) with a leaflike appearance. Leaf insects, which range from India to the Fiji Islands, are about 2.3 in. (60 mm) long. The female has large leathery forewings (tegmina) that lie edge to edge on the abdomen and resemble, in their vein pattern, the midrib and veins in a leaf. The hind wings have no function. The male has small tegmina and ample, non-leaflike, functional hind wings. The newly hatched young are reddish, but become green after feeding on leaves.

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In track and field, a form of racing in which the competitor's advancing foot must touch the ground before the rear foot leaves it. Walking as a sport dates from the later 19th century. Walking races of 10 mi and 3,500 m were added to the men's Olympic program in 1908, but since 1956 the Olympic distances have been 20 km and 50 km. A women's 10-km walk was introduced in 1992.

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Religious ceremony that involves walking across hot coals, red-hot stones, or burning wood. It has been practiced in many parts of the world, including ancient Greece, India, Japan, China, Tahiti, New Zealand, Bulgaria, and Spain. The most common form of fire walking involves striding across a layer of embers spread thinly over the bottom of a shallow trench. More rarely, devotees may walk through a blazing log fire. The reasons for fire walking include purification and as an ordeal to prove innocence. Devotees believe that only those who lack faith will be burned, and many fire walkers do escape without injury.

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