What is this creature? !unidentified creature Since it has six legs, I believe it's some sort of insect, but I could be wrong. I spotted it in my Central Texas backyard (Austin area). It was very slow and not at all skittish. For size reference, it's standing on a 2x4. It was a good 3-5 inches long, not counting antennae.

Walkingsticks, like that in your photo, belong to the insect order Phasmida (also sometimes called Phasmatodea). The species in your photo belongs to the family Pseudophasmatidae. Texas has two species documented for this family. One is _Anisomorpha ferruginea_, commonly called the dark walkingstick or northern two-striped walkingstick. The other species is _Anisomorpha buprestoides_, commonly called Florida stick insect or two-striped walkingstick.

According to W.S. Blatchley's _Orthoptera of Northeastern America_ (1920), pg. 145, _A. ferruginea_ has narrow stripes and is a bit shorter than _A. buprestoides_ , which has broad stripes. Based on the appearance of the stripes in your photo, I'd say you have _A. buprestroides._