Grasshopper
Location: Bucks, Alabama, USA
November 10, 2010 9:59 pm
I’ve been photographing some grasshoppers in a local field and am having trouble identifying them. I’m especially interested in identifying the one that is green with a pink/red head. Can you help?
Signature: L. Delega
Red Headed Meadow Katydid
Dear L.,
Grasshoppers have short antennae and your individual has long antennae, identifying it as a Katydid. More specifically, it is the Red Headed Meadow Katydid, Orchelimum erythrocephalum, which we quickly identified on BugGuide. It is found in the Southeast in late summer and early fall.
Thanks Daniel. I’m so excited to learn that.
¶ Posted 11 November 2010 § ‡ ° Cricket, France 2010
Location: Southern France
November 7, 2010 6:29 am
Hi, My daughter discovered this insect whilst walking in the south of France in June 2010. It was walking out of the undergrowth, having just avoided the gardener’s strimmer. Could you please help identify it? Thanks
Signature: Spencer
Shieldback Katydid
Hi Spencer,
This is a Shieldback Katydid in the subfamily Tettigoniinae. The lack of an ovipositor indicates this is a male. We will try to determine a species identification for you.
Expert Piotr Naskrecki Responds
Hi Daniel,
This is a male of Barbitistes serricauda (Tettigoniidae, Phaneropterinae).
Cheers,
Piotr
¶ Posted 07 November 2010 § ‡ ° Cricket?
Location: Sierra Nevada mountains, Spain
November 3, 2010 3:50 pm
I took this photo last week, 2,550 metres up in the Sierra Nevada mountains in Andalucia. Can you tell me what it is, please?
Signature: Pat
Shieldback Katydid
Hi Pat,
This is some species of Shieldback Katydid and though they are related to true Crickets, they are classified into distinctly different families. Sometimes the common name cricket is applied to a Shieldback Katydid like the Mormon Cricket that is found in western North America. We will contact Piotr Naskrecki to see if he is able to provide any species information since he is an entomologist who specializes in Katydids. We can tell you that because of her swordlike ovipositor, she is a female.
Update from Piotr Naskrecki
November 7, 2010
Hi Daniel,
My e-mail regarding the Spanish katydid must have gotten lost, somehow; I sent the ID a couple of days ago. In any case, this is a female of Pycnogaster, possibly P. gaditana, judging by the shape of the pronotum (Tettigoniidae: Bradyporinae).
Cheers,
Piotr
¶ Posted 04 November 2010 § ‡ ° green bug
Location: Yucca, Az
October 17, 2010 9:51 pm
When I found this bug I thought it was dead. When I put it in a cup it came alive. Please tell me what it is. Thanks.
Signature: Mrs. Miller
Creosote Bush Katydid
Dear Mrs. Miller,
The markings on this Creosote Bush Katydid, Insara covilleae, are unmistakable. The ovipositor indicates that she is a female.
¶ Posted 19 October 2010 § ‡ ° What’s the cute little bug that ate my daylilies?
Location: Blacksburg, VA
October 17, 2010 1:18 pm
This summer, a cute little bug ate my daylilies. (Ok, it did some damage to the flowers, but they only last one day anyway, so I didn’t mind, much.) I only saw it on my flowers in July. I think it was about an inch long at the most. It was bright green with long antenna that were dark with light stripes. It’s legs were green with dark bands and reminded me of a grasshopper, but I don’t think that’s what it is. It had one dark stripe down the middle of it’s back and two thin light green stripes on either side. It had protuding light brown eyes. It was polite enough to pose for it’s picture, so maybe you can tell me what it is. Thanks!
Signature: Karen Ellingson
Scudder's Bush Katydid Nymph
Hi Karen,
Your Katydid nymph is that of the Scudder’s Bush Katydid in the genus Scudderia. We located a matching image on BugGuide to support that identification.
Thank you!
BTW, I’m half way through your book and really like it.
Karen Ellingson
Hi again Karen,
Thanks for letting us know you are finding Daniel’s book enjoyable.
¶ Posted 17 October 2010 § ‡ ° Identification Request
Location: Colorado
October 15, 2010 8:08 pm
We were walking the trail this August 2010 at Piney Lake which is in the Gore Range of the Vail Valley Colorado. This bug was ON the path. I photographed it. It was huge – close to 3” in length & 1” wide. At first we thought it was a plastic toy a child had dropped. On the way back, darn if it wasn’t on the path again so I got a second photo. What I didn’t think to do was put my foot or something in the picture to show how big it really was. I’m also including a picture of the Piney Lake habitat. I am thinking it looks like some kind of giant cricket but cannot find it anywhere on the internet ID sites. Please do not share my email address. Thank You for your consideration.
Signature: S. Meyer
Mormon Cricket
Dear S. Meyer,
This is the second photo of a Mormon Cricket, Anabrus simplex, that we have posted today. Despite being called a Cricket, a Mormon Cricket is actually a Shieldbacked Katydid.
Daniel thank you so very much for your response. We have spent many hours outdoors in our aging lives & never seen the likes of this “Mormon Cricket” (wonder how it got THAT nickname?). I am curious where the other post was found. Also at altitude?
I will search for more info on the Shieldbacked Katydid, Anabrus simplex.
Susan MEyer
Hi Susan,
The name Mormon Cricket dates back to the mid nineteenth century when the first Mormon settlers in Utah were in danger of having their wheat crop destroyed because of the insect. Flocks of gulls flew in from the Great Salt Lake and devoured the insects, and the “miracle” resulted in the common name Mormon Cricket.
¶ Posted 16 October 2010 § ‡ ° Cricket? in a field in the Grand Tetons
Location: Grand Tetons National Park
October 12, 2010 10:36 pm
Good evening:
I ran into this odd cricket while photographing wildlife in the Grand Tetons National Park. Found a dead one first being feasted on by a grasshopper, then ran into a second one about 20 feet further along the path.
Camel cricket? Mormon cricket?
Signature: Chris
Mormon Cricket
Hi Chris,
We believe that you have correctly identified the Mormon Cricket, Anabrus simplex, one of the Shieldbacked Katydids, but we will try to get the expert opinion of Piotr Naskrecki to verify that.
Piotr Naskrecki provides confirmation
The chubbier individual with a shorter pronotum is indeed the Mormon cricket (Anabrus simplex)… .
Piotr
¶ Posted 16 October 2010 § ‡ ° Orthopteran, short antenae, shield like pronatum
Location: Yakima, WA
October 14, 2010 2:02 pm
Somewhat like a katydid, but short antennae. Pronatum shorter that in pygmy grasshoppers. Sub- adult instar?
Signature: Paul Huffman, President-for-Life, Moclips Surf Club
Shieldbacked Katydid
Hi Paul,
It appears that your Shieldbacked Katydid in the genus Neduba has been traumatized, hence the clipped antennae. You can compare your image to photos for the genus posted to BugGuide.
Piotr Naskrecki provides confirmation
… whereas the one with a larger pronotum is a male of Neduba sp.
Piotr
¶ Posted 15 October 2010 § ‡ ° 
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