Definition of "phasmid" []

• Any of various insects of the order Phasmida, including the leaf insects and walking sticks, especially common in tropical areas and resembling foliage in color and form. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Specimens of Lord Howe Island phasmid Dryococoelus australis (Ex), a large flightless phasmatid thought to be extinct on Lord Howe Island, is known to occur still on Ball's Pyramid."
• "The oldest phasmid fossils they go back in Baltic amber to the Tertiary—i.e., about 50 million years ago look identical to present-day species, showing that no gradations have occurred."
• "Although many are amazing in their mimicry, others simply have elongated, cryptic shapes and colors, but they do not closely resemble leaves and twigs, and are rather similar to many other non-phasmid insects see for instance some of the phasmid species in the picture below."