32 Spotted Katydid
Location: Quensland Australia
January 2, 2011 6:27 pm
Happy New Year guys.
It’s been wet, wet, wet, here in Queensland but finally a bit of sunshine today. This katydid (Ephippitytha trigintiduoguttata) is not usually seen in the adult phase as it prefers to feed on leaves at the top of gum trees but I was lucky to find this one on some regrowth close to the ground. Quite a looker, hope you like the shots.
Signature: aussietrev
32 Spotted Katydid
Happy New Year Trevor,
Thanks so much for sending us these wonderful photos of the magnificent 32 Spotted Katydid. We will try to find a link to additional information tomorrow.
Update: January 3, 2011
The Insects of Brisbane website has a nice set of images of the 32 Spotted Katydid.
32 Spotted Katydid
Kekoa the Katydid – RIP
Location: Vancouver, Washington
January 2, 2011 4:41 am
Well, she lived much longer than I had originally thought she would after laying her eggs, and I’m not happy to see her go, but I’ve got her babies to watch for in the spring and maybe raise one of them in her stead. Left four days ago for a new years trip, came back early rather than on Monday because of family issues, to discover my brother telling me he’d seen her face down in the bottom of her cage for a while, and she hadn’t been moving. I checked on her, and sure enough she was dead, and her body starting to brown. Even in death I think she is beautiful. Sad to see her go, but her role in life was done, and I’m proud to have helped her live it through 
Found her on Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11th
She laid eggs on Nov. 23rd through 27th (more here: She laid eggs on Nov. 23rd through 27th)
Passed away either Dec. 30 / 31st
When her babies start to emerge, I’ll take pictures and help increase the Katydid picture resources!
Signature: Sincerely, Kaetlin the bug fanatic
Kekoa the Katydid has died
Dear Kaitlin,
Thanks for keeping us informed of the death of your pet Katydid. As you indicated, her life in captivity probably increased her longevity. We hope she has produced viable eggs for you and we look forward to additional updates when the eggs hatch.
¶ Posted 02 January 2011 § ‡ ° Pink Bug
Location: Brazil, Rio de Janeiro
December 23, 2010 9:13 am
Hi!!! I took these pics months ago, but i have no idea of what bug this could be!!! I’m thinking it might be a pink katydid but i’m not sure at all!! I’m sorry for the quality of the images!!!
Signature: Mac
Unknown Katydid
Dear Mac,
This is a Longhorned Orthopteran in the suborder Ensifera, and there is a really good chance that it is a Katydid in the family Tettigoniidae. We will try to get a definitive identification from Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki. Many typically green Katydids have pink or brown morphs and this particular specimen blending in so nicely with the pink blossom might explain how this unusual coloration may contribute to the survival of certain individuals.
Unknown Katydid
Piotr Naskrecki responds
February 9, 2011
Hi Daniel,
… The pink Brazilian katydid is a young nymph of a phaneropterine katydid, but it is too young to be identified based on the photos.
Cheers,
Piotr
Piotr Naskrecki, Ph. D.
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University
¶ Posted 26 December 2010 § ‡ ° Bush Katydid Eggs
Location: Vancouver, Washington
December 3, 2010 10:46 am
Hi, it’s the gal with the bush Katydid named Kekoa, again. I said I’d update on her if she laid eggs – and on Nov. 23rd she did! I waited a day or two after the laid, what seemed to be her last clutch of eggs, and then took out the leaves she’d lain in so I could proffer new ones, in case she’s not done yet.
I’ve counted 17 eggs, that I can see inside leaf-pockets, and several more discarded on the ground of her terrarium. I had thought she’d bee a Katydid who’d lay eggs over a stick or elsewhere, and didn’t think that she’d want thick leaves to lay in, so by a stroke of luck on a snowy day I grabbed some ivy leaves, later that night she went to town. I sent a message in a few days earlier with pictures of her actually laying the eggs – but here are ones of the eggs by themselves.
Signature: Sincerely, Kaetlin the bug fanatic
Bush Katydid Eggs
Hi again Kaetlin,
We waited a bit to post this update because we were so late in posting the previous update of Kekoa in Captivity.
¶ Posted 04 December 2010 § Eggs ‡ ° She’s laying eggs! – Katydid
Kekoa's sickle shaped ovipositor comes into contact with a leaf.
She’s laying eggs! – Katydid
Location: Vancouver, Washington
November 27, 2010 10:02 pm
Well, not too long after you responded to my last inquiry…My little Kekoa decided to give me a thing to be thankful for on thanksgiving!
She surprised me Nov. 23rd in the evening, around 9:30 or so, by doing something rather odd on one of her leaves. Well, at first I dismissed it and thought she was pooping again, until I saw where she was. She was on a fresh leaf, as I’d redone her cage that afternoon. She was ovipositing, or seemed to be, and sure enough I found reference photos and she seemed to be laying eggs in the new leaves I’d placed in there for her.
I’ve counted 16 eggs laid inside various leaves, and countless more that have either been discarded onto the floor of the terrarium, or into her gullet, for what I am guessing is just a source of energy.
She lays more and more each day, and I can’t wait until spring to see if any of them hatch! If they do, I’ll be sure to update. I plan to try and keep one or two of the nymphs, and follow them throughout all their stages, so provide both documentation, and fun pictures.
Signature: Sincerely, Kaetlin the bug fanatic
Kekoa in Captivity
Dear Kaetlin,
Please forgive us for not creating this post earlier. It took some time because we wanted to crop your photos and make them web ready. Your account of Kekoa in captivity and laying eggs is a beautiful document. Your new email just arrived today, jogging our collective memories about this email which was buried in the In Box.
Kekoa, the Scudderia species, is quite graceful when she is twisting her abdomen so that her sickle shaped ovipositor would come into contact with the leaf. We cannot find your response that you were sad that Kekoa’s jumping legs would not grow back. We will post your egg photos, which just arrived while we were working, in the near future.
Kekoa Lays Eggs
¶ Posted 03 December 2010 § Eggs ‡ ° An elegant green whazzit
Location: Bethel, Missouri
December 2, 2010 12:04 am
Dear Bugman, Love, love, LOVE your site! I encountered this elegant green ”grasshopper” a couple of years ago at the World Sheep Festival in Bethel, Missouri (Labor Day Weekend). The body was about an inch long. What is it and why does it have such outrageously long antennae?
Signature: N. Fritz
Wingless Meadow Katydid
Dear N. Fritz,
This is a Meadow Katydid and Katydids belong to the suborder Ensifera, the Long-Horned Orthoptera, so named because of their long antennae which distinguishes them from Grasshoppers. Your specimen looks like a male Wingless Meadow Katydid, Odontoxiphidium apterum, which we identified on BugGuide. BugGuide states its range is “Southeastern US” and though the examples posted on BugGuide are from the deep south, we know that historically Missouri was considered a southern state. We will check with Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki to see if he can confirm our identification. Insect antennae are sensory organs.
Straight-Lanced Meadow Katydid
Correction thanks to Piotr Naskrecki
Hi Daniel,
No, it is not Odontoxiphidium, but Conocephalus strictus (both genera are closely related, though).
Cheers,
Piotr
Thanks Piotr,
We will link to Conocephalus strictus, the Straight-Lanced Meadow Katydid, on BugGuide which is found in “Dry grasslands, old fields with grasses“ in the “Eastern and Central United States.“
A very pretty pink insect
Location: Lahore, Pakistan
November 28, 2010 12:08 pm
Hi
I recently saw this insect on a window sill sitting perfectly still. I have never seen something like this before. Can you please help me identify this?
Thanks
Signature: Mansoor
Pink Conehead from Pakistan
Dear Mansoor,
We believe this is a Conehead in the Katydid tribe Copiphorini, commonly called the Coneheads (See BugGuide). The pink coloration may be an anomaly. Often typically green Katydids exhibit this pink coloration, but it is not common. We will contact a Katydid expert, Piotr Naskrecki, to see if he is able to provide a species identification.
Hi Daniel,
I cannot tell for sure from this photo, but it is a female of either Ruspolia sp. or Pseudorhynchus sp. (Conocephalinae).
Cheers,
Piotr
Thanks Piotr,
Is pink the typical color, or is it an anomaly like in certain North American species?
Daniel
Hi Daniel,
It is not an anomaly in this katydid, and it is not an anomaly in North American species either. Pink color morphs are common in katydids, although more so in some species than others (especially in Phaneropterinae and Conocehalinae), and of course there are groups that do not have pink morphs at all. The fact that pink katydids are not seen often is only testament to the effectiveness of this cryptic coloration.
Cheers,
Piotr
Scudderia Furcata Katydid female
Location: Vancouver, Washington
November 21, 2010 12:05 am
I recently sent a letter to you asking the specific species of a little Katydid from the northwestern U.S about a week ago, probably on veterans day.
Well, I researched a little for myself and figured she was a scudderia furcata, as she matches that most.
The little gal is a veteran herself; having lost her two rearmost legs. I found her outside on my porch, and she didn’t fuss at all when I caught her in a little container.
Now she’s in a little terrarium, filled with moss, sticks, and an abundant amount of food. She seems happy enough without her legs; but one inquiry I haven’t been able to find the answer to is whether or not her legs will grow back.
I’m attaching as many of the good photos I have of her as I can. I hope you will publish this, and fast, because it’s not a research piece. I’m also hoping that she’ll lay eggs every time her ovipositor shifts down to let her poo, but then again that’s just a hope.
By the way; I’ve named her Kekoa. A friend told me it means ’Little Brave One’.
Signature: Sincerely, Kaetlin the bug fanatic
Bush Katydid
Hi Kaetlin,
We believe your identification of a Fork-Tailed Bush Katydid is correct, though we would not entirely discount another member is the genus as several other species may be found in your area according to BugGuide’s data. Kekoa’s legs will not grow back. Leg regeneration is unusual in insects, though some spiders are able to regenerate missing limbs if they are young. The new limb will grow with each new molt. As an adult, Kekoa will not molt again, so her legs will not regenerate.
Bush Katydid
¶ Posted 21 November 2010 § ‡ ° 
rss
I like This
