This bug looks like a green leaf
Fri, Nov 28, 2008 at 7:12 AM
My dogs found this green “leaf” bug on my front walk this morning. I live at Lake Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico. The bug was moving very slowly. I don’t know if it was injured when one dog pawed in a little but all legs seem to be intact. It opened its “leaf” wings slightly once. What is it and what is its purpose?
Susy
Lake Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico
Mexican Katydid
Hi Susy,
This is some species of Katydid in the family Tettigoniidae, but we cannot provide you with a species name. Most, but not all Katydids are plant feeders. You question this Katydid’s purpose and that is a loaded question. Each creature occupies a specific niche in the balance of nature, and to remove any individual species may ultimately tip the scale, upsetting the equilibrium of the entire planet. Some may question that the balance has already been upset.
Update:
Daniel:
Here is what he had to say about the other two katydid posts….
Eric
Sunday, November 30, 2008, 5:25 PM
Hi Eric,
1. I noticed two new posts about katydids at WhatsThatBug.com … the second is a species of Stilpnochlora(Phaneropterinae) from Mexico (possibly S. azteca, but it is hard to be
certain as females in this genus are very similar to each other.) …
Cheers,
Piotr Naskrecki
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Posted 30 November 2008
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Cricket
Wed, Nov 26, 2008 at 5:59 PM
I was up rock climbing at Mt. San Jacinto where i spotted this cricket near my partners foot.
Randy
Mt. San Jacinto near palm spring
Shield-Backed Katydid
Hi Randy,
We are pretty certain that this is a Shieldbacked Katydid in the subfamily Tettigoniinae, but we do not recognize the species, nor did we see a close match on BugGuide. If this is a high elevation species, and your letter did not provide this information, then it might not be a well known as species that would be encountered in civilized areas. We will check with Eric Eaton to see if he can provide us with any additional information.
Daniel,
Your ID is correct to family and subfamily (Tettigoniidae: Tettigoniinae), but I have no idea what genus, let alone species. I’ll try to get my colleagues to come take a look. Sure is distinctive (and a male, I can tell that much). Intriguing. Could be yet another new species, lots of katydids still undescribed from California.
Eric
Update: November 30, 2008
Daniel:
Here is what the world’s leading authority has to say about the first katydid you asked me about. Great, this time there isn’t even a GENUS name to give you!
Eric
Hi Eric,
This is a well-known (to the orthopterist community), but still undescribed genus of a shieldback katydid (Decticinae.) It appears to be closely related to Neduba. The last person claiming to going to describe it was Ted Cohn of U. of Michigan, but perhaps somebody else is now in charge of this.
Cheers,
Piotr Naskrecki
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Posted 28 November 2008
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Can you identify this tropical cricket?
Sun, Nov 23, 2008 at 12:41 PM
The cricket shown in the photo about is about 7 cm long. The distinctive features of this insect include the turqoise eyes and the long antennae. The specimen shown had just been disabled after being struck by a shoe. My young children cowered in fear after it alighted on a balcony ledge.
Solar
Saint Lucia, West Indies
Blue Eyed Katydid from West Indies
Hi Solar,
We are more inclined to think this is a Katydid in the family Tettigoniidae as opposed to a Cricket in the family Gryllidae. To be safe, we would only classify down to the suborder Ensifera, the Long-horned Orthoptera until we get some input. We would think that this is a well documented species due to its unusual eye coloration which almost seems to have been enhanced through PhotoShop, but we didn’t have much luck with our web search.
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Posted 24 November 2008
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Someone sent me this pic from Botswana
Sun, Nov 23, 2008 at 2:26 PM
Dear bugman:
I don’t have much to go on here. All I know is the photo is from Botswana. Not even sure what part of the country. Thanks in advance.
Alex
Botswana
Shield-Back Katydid from Botswana
Hi Alex,
This is a Shield-Backed Katydid in the subfamily Tettigoniinae. Other than that, we would need the input of someone familiar with the species in Botswana. Some Shield-Backed Katydids are carnivorous, but most are plant eaters.
BTW, I love your site. You guys are what the web is supposed to be.
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Posted 24 November 2008
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Mormon Cricket Eating A Grasshopper
Mon, Oct 13, 2008 at 4:37 PM
Here’s a photo of a Mormon Cricket eating grasshopper roadkill. It was on a dirt road in the mountains of Southern Idaho. It might work into Bug Carnage…
Also include a side shot of a Mormon Cricket on the same road.
Congrats on the site redesign!
Rush
Mountain Home, Idaho, USA
Mormon Cricket eats Grasshopper Roadkill
Hi Rush,
Your photos are both positively gorgeous. Mormon Crickets are omnivorous feeders. They are credited with destroying crops, but they will also cannibalize one another if there is no other food. That dead grasshopper was just too appealing to be passed by. Your profile shot shows the impressive swordlike ovipositor of the female Mormon Cricket. For clarification, our Unnecessary Carnage section is reserved for the deliberate killing of insects by people for no apparent reason. Thanks for the compliment on our new site design.
Female Mormon Cricket
Foot sized insect/bug, can’t find anywhere on Internet
Hello,
I don’t know if you replied to this email, unfortunately if you did I think it may have went into the spam box. Could you forward me your message again please?
Many thanks
Hello,
Whilst in Turkey the other year I come across this insect which for the life of me I can’t seem to find out what it is. It was easily as large as my foot and has a large spike as a tail – easily the most horrid, chunkiest thing I’ve ever seen! I tried to get a better photo but it crawled away into dense dried shrubs & grass, and to be honest I was so scared of it I couldn’t get any closer. I seem to think it may be part of the Cricket family. I’ve seen similar, much smaller ones, around 5-10cm’s in length usually in bathrooms or patio’s. The first two photo’s are of the large one, the other’s are the similar, smaller type (with the strange tail) and were found in a bathroom (one under the toilet seat!!!).
Can you please let me know what it is and any more information you could give me? I can send the full sized photo’s if need be.
Thank you so much!
Stephen Donoghue
Unknown Turkish Orthopteran
Hi Stephen,
Your original letter arrived during our transition phase to our new website format and many more letters went unanswered during that period, though in actuality, many letters always go unanswered to to the sheer volume of mail we receive. Your photos represent two different species of Orthopterans, and since the one found indoors is an immature nymph, we doubt we will be able to get you an accurate identification. The “foot sized” insect is also a Long Horned Orthopteran in the suborder Ensifera. We really don’t want to go any further with an identification attempt on this, but we can say that the stinger you mentioned is the ovipositor of a female. We hope one of our readers has time to research this posting and can write in with a comment. We will also see if Eric Eaton can supply any information.
Eric Eaton Replies:
Daniel:
I am reasonably confident that the unknown Turkish orthopteran is an adult female wingless katydid in the family Tettigoniidae, subfamily Saginae, and genus Saga. I found an online checklist of Turkish Orthoptera that lists ten species of Saga in that nation, so I will leave it for others to assign a species name to this specimen. Very interesting animals!
Eric
I Want My Wife Back, I Bugged Her with a bug
This has got to be the strangest jumping – stinger tailed – almost grass hopper I’ve ever seen. It does not have wings, has a long stinger looking thingie with something else protruding out of its hind end above the long stinger. Perhaps that is a suit case or is it just me wondering if my wife will ever return to our mountain Cabin in Utah with those things crawling around. I saw this critter crawling on the ground and naturally called my sweetie to come and have a look at it. When it jumped, she did too and hasn’t quit slapping her legs with her hands ever since for fear there are others crawling up her pant legs. I put it in a plastic cup and it climbed right up the side. I figure I’ll be rather famous for discovering this never before seen bug (at least by us) and could use the notoriety as I’m not too tallented in any other area. I’m not too good of a cook and I’m going to get pretty hungry up there if you don’t respond and tell her it is completely harmless. If you’ve never seen one either, just lie a little so I can get her to cook up some grub, and I don’t mean worms. Either way, she won’t believe me when I explain to her that it is quite tame and slow moving. There she goes, slapping at her legs again.
Wasatch Mountains, Oakley, Utah
Cabin Fever and Slap Happy, NOT!
Mormon Cricket
Dear Cabin Fever and Slap Happy, NOT!,
You should have learned in the third grade not to chase girls with spiders and snakes and Mormon Crickets, but we believe we can provide you with enough historical information to entice your wife back to your rustic cabin. Your Shield-Backed Katydid known as a Mormon Cricket, Anabrus simplex, though BugGuide indicates there are other members in the genus and exact identification may be difficult with the examination of the specimen. Legend has it that when the first Mormons arrived in Utah in 1848, they were saved from famine when seagulls suddenly appeared and ate the swarm of Mormon Crickets that was about to devour the first wheat crop. The Wikipedia page on the Mormon Cricket has plenty of good information, and you might also want to visit the Wikipedia page on the Miracle of the Gulls. With regards to the “stinger” you mentioned on your specimen, it is actually the ovipositor of the female Mormon Cricket. She uses the ovipositor to deposit her eggs deep in the soil. Since Wikipedia mentions that Native Americans consumed the Mormon Cricket, we will include it on our edible insect page and we expect that David Gracer, whose Sunrise Land Shrimp webiste is devoted to edible insects, will probably add a comment to this posting. Should you and your wife be living in your secluded cabin after a natural or man-made catastrophe (is there really a difference these days?), you may need to survive by eating the Mormon Crickets. Your wife may want to begin experimenting with the culinary possibilities soon. Should your wife not return to you, you may be eating these succulent morsels yourself. It appears as though the individual in your photo has been injured.
Update: David Gracer’s Input
Hi Daniel,
Congratulations on your overhaul. It must have been a lot of work. Regarding those crickets/katydids, this species might have been the most important kind of edible insect traditionally utilized by American Indians. Euro-American observers have written many pages describing the collection methods and preparation techniques concerning this species; nearly all of that documentation occurred in the mid 1800s. I’m told that the ones which have eaten cultivated alfalfa taste a good deal better than those which have consumed wild sagebrush, but thus far I haven’t had the opportunity to sample this species for myself. Best regards, Dave
Any ideas? Found it outside my home in San Diego, CA.
ryan
Hi Ryan,
This is a female Fork-Tailed Bush Katydid, Scudderia mexicana. They are attracted to our Los Angeles porch light right now, and we let the adults eat our rose buds because we enjoy the sounds they make. Charles Hogue, in Insects of the Los Angeles Basis wrote: “It song is also slightly different: males usually lisp (“zeek”) in a series of three or four a few seconds apart, although a shorter-pulsed sound (“zip”) is also made; ticking seems to be rare.”
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Posted 16 August 2008
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On the road again
Hi
Driving through the Texas hill country last year these guys were walking across the road. They were all over the place but walking. He stopped in his tracks when I got within 4 feet. I’d guess he is about 3 inches long. I used the zoom feature on my camera not wanting to get any closer. LOL
Wesley O’Rear
Hi Wesley,
Last year there was a significant mass emergence of the Truncated True Katydid, Paracyrtophyllus robustus, in this pink/brown variation in Texas. This species is most often green. Before we realized your spectacular photo was a year old, we thought there might be another mass emergence.You can see more on BugGuide. He is a she as evidenced by her swordlike ovipositor.
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Posted 07 July 2008
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On the road again
Hi
Driving through the Texas hill country last year these guys were walking across the road. They were all over the place but walking. He stopped in his tracks when I got within 4 feet. I’d guess he is about 3 inches long. I used the zoom feature on my camera not wanting to get any closer. LOL
Wesley O’Rear
Hi Wesley,
Last year there was a significant mass emergence of the Truncated True Katydid, Paracyrtophyllus robustus, in this pink/brown variation in Texas. This species is most often green. Before we realized your spectacular photo was a year old, we thought there might be another mass emergence.You can see more on BugGuide. He is a she as evidenced by her swordlike ovipositor.
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Posted 07 July 2008
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Ed. Note: (07/07/2008) We have just spent about two hours updating the Katydid 2 page based on corrections and identifications sent to us from Piotr Naskrecki, Director of the Invertebrate Diversity Initiative of Conservation International and Research Associate with the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University.
Katydid ID’s
Hi,
I have been looking at the page with unidentified katydids (Katydids 2), and
thought I could help with some ID’s. From top to bottom they are: [there was a very long list here] Incidentally, it would make it a much easier job for people who know what these things are if each entry had an e-mail link “Identify this insect”. Alternatively, each entry should have a unique code (e.g., Katydid_002, Grasshopper_125 etc.) to make it easier for people to refer to a particular image. Otherwise a great site, keep up the good job. Cheers,
Piotr
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Posted 03 July 2008
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WHOA! Weird bug!
Hey Bugman! I live in Tampa, Florida. The other day I was in my backyard the other day at night with some friends. Suddenly my friend screams and yells that something smacked her face! I shined the light on her face and suddenly I realized that there was this bug just chilling on the side of her face! Of course, me being the animal and bug lover I am, I snatch it off her face before she smooshed it and took a quick picture of it to send to you. I looked in my florida wildlife book and didnt see anything that looked like this. Can you identify it? P.S. It was safely released and flew away. Thanks!
Cammy P.
Hi Cammy,
This appears to be a female Common Conehead, probably in the genus Neoconocephalus as evidenced by images on BugGuide, though females with their swordlike ovipositors are underrepresented on the site.
Update: (07/03/2008) Katydid IDs from Piotr Naskrecki
Hi,
I have been looking at the page with unidentified katydids (Katydids 2), and thought I could help with some ID’s. From top to bottom they are: Florida conehead – Bucrates malivolans
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Posted 30 June 2008
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