The species has been observed as having many superficial differences in appearance among individuals: The body colour and texture is varied and is many shades green, brown or yellow.

The long thin body is very hard to make out from real sticks which provides these insects with a way to hide in plain sight.

[9] Generally a stick insect will moult between five and ten times between hatching from the egg and mature adulthood.

[10] The life of a stick insect consists of four stages: Adults lay their ova (eggs) either by dropping them to the ground or depositing them within a suitable substrate.

Nymphs go through a series of moults before maturing to an adults which allows them to grow in the absence of their hard exoskeleton and also regenerate limbs that may have lost through a process called autotomy.

This is a short part of the life cycle and the last before the insect reaches the stage of reproduction[12] The adult stage of a stick insect generally lasts six months to a year, during this period the animal's life is devoted to feeding and reproduction.

Acanthoxyla inermis seems to reproduce entirely asexually so while she feeds the female drops her eggs without having to move or compete with other members of her species for mates.

They have been said to signify several different things: If a stick insect (or mantis) landed on a woman it was said to be a sign she was pregnant.