stick insect; walking stick; leaf insect
Refers to any insect of the order Phasmatodea, including both stick insects and leaf insects. In everyday Japanese, ナナフシ typically brings to mind the long, thin stick-like species.
I found a stick insect in the garden.
Stick insects mimic tree branches.
Micadina phluctaenoides (species of stick insect)
Katakana spelling is the most common written form for this insect name.
Kanji spelling is rarely used; the word is almost always written in kana.
Alternate kanji spelling, also rare; the word is almost always written in kana.
The name ナナフシ is said to come from 七節 (ななふし, 'seven joints'), referring to the segmented body of the insect. The exact origin is uncertain, but the kanji spelling reflects this folk etymology.