Grasshopper bug
Location: Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
March 12, 2011 7:26 am
Hi Team,
Found this bug on my door last night, it looks like a grasshopper or locust, but I have never seen one like it here ever.Its about 2-3 inches long with white stripes up its belly. Can you help?
Cheers Denis
Signature: Denis Fitzgerald
32 Spotted Katydid
Hi Denis,
We quickly identified your 32 Spotted Katydid, Ephippitytha trigintiduoguttata, by searching the Insects of Brisbane website. It is also known as a Mottled Katydid, and the etymologically incorrect Speckled Grasshopper. Though Katydids and Grasshoppers are in the same insect order, Orthoptera, they are classified in different suborders.
32 Spotted Katydid
Hi Daniel,
Thank you for your email and that you identified my grasshopper.
Seems its common up northern Australia. No wonder I have never seen this type so far south where I am, before.
Thanks again you guys do a GREAT job.
Cheers Denis
moss camo orthoptera
Location: Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea
March 2, 2011 4:38 pm
found this guy on bioko island in a caldera. thought it was pretty neat. would you be able to id for me?
Signature: tim
Moss Mimic Katydid
Hi Tim,
We have been getting some interesting photos of moss and lichen mimicking Katydids from various places in the world lately, and we have been enlisting the assistance of Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki in the species or genus identification. We will write to Piotr to get his opinion.
Moss Mimic Katydid
Piotr Naskrecki provides an identification
Hi Daniel,
This is a pretty rarely collected beast, Batodromeus subulo (Pseudophyllinae, Pleminiini). The genus Batodromeus is remarkably similar to the neotropica moss-mimicking genus Championica, but the two do not appear to be closely related.
Cheers,
Piotr
Thanks Piotr,
Is it rare because it is endemic to the caldera?
Daniel
Daniel,
This species is not endemic to Bioko, it is known also from Cameroon, but it is very rarely collected because of its association with canopy epiphytes. In 5 years of katydid collecting in West Africa I only managed to find one individual of the genus Batodromeus.
Cheers,
Piotr
On Mar 4, 2011, at 2:20, daniel marlos <dmarlos@roadrunner.com> wrote:
¶ Posted 03 March 2011 § ‡ ° Some kind of Orthopteran?
Location: Southeastern Peru, Manu Area
February 28, 2011 4:03 am
I stumbled across this while hiking through foothill forest of Southeastern Peru in Manu National Park around 900 – 1000m elevation. The insect almost perfectly camouflaged itself by fitting its body into a lengthwise cavity in a hollow twig while holding its antennae and legs outstretched and parallell with the twig. It’s body fit almost perfectly.
Thanks!
Signature: Rich
Unknown Orthopteran
Hi Rich,
We agree that this is an Orthopteran. We will try to contact Piotr Naskrecki, an expert in Katydids, to see if he can identify this unusual creature.
Piotr Naskrecki provides tribe identification
Hi Daniel,
This is a nymph of a katydid of the tribe Pleminiini (Pseudophyllinae), but it is too young for me to be able to tell the genus.
Cheers,
Piotr
Hi Daniel,
Thank you! I saw Piotr’s response on the website. This is very interesting. Sorry, I have a couple more questions: I was curious as to whether the insect makes the cavity itself or finds existing ones. Is hiding like this typical of nymphs the tribe Pleminiini? Also, what do adults look like? Are they typical green katydids?
Thanks a lot!
Rich
Hi Rich,
This response is mostly speculation. We doubt that the nymph excavates the cavity. Most Katydids practice some form of camouflage mimicry. We are unable to locate any images of individuals in the tribe Pleminiini.
¶ Posted 28 February 2011 § ‡ ° Camouflaged katydid from Peru
Location: Shima, near Satipo, Junin, Peru
February 27, 2011 5:47 am
This katydid appears to be camouflaged for a lichen environment. It came to a moth light in Junin state, Peru. Can anyone please help me find the species?
Signature: Peter Bruce-Jones
Katydid
Hi Peter,
Several years ago, we posted a photo of a Moss Mimic Katydid from Costa Rica, and if you look at that posting, you will see some similarities, but we don’t believe this is the same species. We will try to contact Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki to see if he can properly identify your species.
Comment from Piotr Naskrecki
Hi Daniel,
This is an almost certainly undescribed species of the tribe Dysonini (Phaneropterinae), possibly Machima sp. It is a very poorly known group of katydids, and virtually nothing is known about their biology, other than their remarkable mimicry of lichens.
Cheers,
Piotr
Another unknown katydid from Peru
Location: Shima, near Satipo, Junin, Peru
February 10, 2011 3:38 am
I would be grateful for any help with the identity of this orthopteran found in central Peru.
Signature: Peter Bruce-Jones
Katydid
Hello again Peter,
We only have time to post one of your newly submitted Katydid images this morning and we do not have time to contact Piotr Naskrecki. We will wait until later in the week to trouble him again.
Hi Daniel,
No problem. I am happy to proceed with these at whatever pace is most convenient.
Peter
¶ Posted 10 February 2011 § ‡ ° Peruvian cricket
Location: Rio Pindayo, near Curimana, Ucayali, Peru
February 9, 2011 3:28 am
Can you help me find the identity of this cricket found in central Peru?
Signature: Peter Bruce-Jones
Katydid
Hi again Peter,
This is not a cricket, but rather, it is a Katydid in the family Tettigoniidae. Crickets and Katydids are classified together in the suborder Ensifera, the Long Horned Orthopterans. We often request assistance with exotic Katydid identifications from entomologist Piotr Naskrecki, however, we suspect he is in the field as he did not respond to our recent emails. We will write to him to see if he recognizes your Katydid. We can tell you that she is a female as evidenced by her swordlike ovipositor.
Hi Daniel,
Thank you.
On this side of the Atlantic the Tettigoniidae are known as Bush-crickets and the term “katydid” is alien to us, hence my (imprecise) use of “cricket”. I look forward to hearing what your expert makes of it, and will hold back my other similar queries until he is in contact again.
Best regards,
Peter
Piotr Naskrecki Responds
Hi Daniel,
This is a female of Choeroparnops, most likely C. tuberculatus (Tettigoniidae: Pseudophyllinae: Platyphyllini).
Cheers,
Piotr
Thank you Daniel. That was quicker than I expected. I have a few more orthopterans to enquire about; I’ll start with the long-horned ones.
All the best,
Peter
¶ Posted 09 February 2011 § ‡ ° Green Insect Found On Oahu
Location: Honolulu, HI
January 31, 2011 1:48 am
Hi, I found this insect on a hike in Manoa this weekend. Do you know what it is? It was on a tree near a river.
Signature: EMC
Unknown Green Thing
Dear EMC,
Do you have a photo with more depth of field that shows some of the physical characteristics of this creature, like its head? It appears from your photo that the creature keeps its back two pairs of legs together, but we cannot make out what is going on with the front legs. Perhaps one of our readers will recognize this creature, which we believe might be some Orthopteran, the order that included crickets and katydids. Since we cannot make out any wings, we believe this may be an immature specimen.
Daniel-
Thank for your reply. I was thinking a form of leaf insect too, but then I was thinking that it had characteristics of a net casing spider also. This was the only photo that I was able to get of it.
Thank you for your help.
EMC
Update courtesy of Karl
Hi Daniel and EMC:
I believe you are correct Daniel in suggesting that this is a katydid (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae). I was able to find only one similar image on a site by Collin Miller (scroll down four images). Unfortunately creature is not identified beyond family but, although the photo is a little fuzzy, it does show what is going on with the front legs. It probably is a juvenile so a more precise identification will likely require some expertise or a lot of research. Regards. Karl
¶ Posted 31 January 2011 § ‡ ° Tagged: mysteries Beautiful leaf-like bug
Location: Belize
January 5, 2011 12:30 pm
Hi – I found this outside on a wall. I *think* his eyes are near the narrow end? Had he been in a tree, I never would have seen him. What an amazing shape – he really does look just like a leaf! Any idea what he is? Thanks!
Signature: Cindy
Katydid
Hi Cindy,
This is a Katydid, but we haven’t the time to research the species at this moment. We will try to get assistance from Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki, but we suspect he is on holiday at the moment.
Hi Daniel,
Wow. A katydid? Amazing… The ones I remember seeing, while leaf-like, still had legs and antennae that looked like, well, legs and antennae. This guy didn’t have antennae at all and even his legs were “leaf-like”. (Can you tell *I’m* not an entomologist? “legs”? “antennae?” *laughing*) Hey, I’m still only partly convinced that I can tell where his eyes are.
Anyway, thanks again – at least I know what type he is! (He really is gorgeous.)
Thanks again for your excellent work – love you guys!
-cindy
Piotr Naskrecki provides an identification
February 9, 2011
Hi Daniel,
The green, leaf-like katydid from Belize is a male of Aegimia sp. (Phaneropterinae). The antennae in this genus are unusually thin for katydids, and in this individual folded backwards to enhance the mimicry of leaves.
… Cheers,
Piotr
Piotr Naskrecki, Ph. D.
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University
¶ Posted 05 January 2011 § ‡ ° 
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