Grasshopper looking bug with “eye” on the back
Location: Croatia, Dalmatia, Adriatic Coast, Biokovo Mountains
October 4, 2010 11:10 am
This big fella and his friends were spotted (rather frequently) during a hike in the Dinaric alps around 1000 m above sea level in Dalmatia, Croatia (Biokovo National Park, next to the Adriatic sea) in early September. The bug was ca 5 cm long and looked like a grasshopper. Is it a grasshopper that comes in a fancier outfit than the grasshoppers we see at home maybe? We were very fascinated by this little creature but haven’t been able to find out what bug it actually is. Please help us!
Signature: Szabolcs&Susanna
Saddle-Back Katydid
Dear Szabolcs & Susanna,
This is a Longhorned Orthopteran in the suborder Ensifera, probably a Shieldback Katydid in the subfamily Tettigoniinae. The long ovipositor indicates she is a female. We will search for a species name and attempt to contact Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki for his expertise.
Thank you for your quick answer! We’re looking forward to possibly getting to know more!
Saddle-Back Katydid
Hi Daniel,
This is a Saddle-back katydid (Ephippiger discoidalis). Normally this species is green, but at higher elevations you often find dark-colored forms of this (and other Ephippiger) species. Ephippiger is a really interesting genus, not only because males produce enormous nuptial gift in the form of a very large spermatophylax, but also because females in this group have evolved a unique stridulatory apparatus, and are capable of singing as well as the males (but do so only rarely).
Cheers,
Piotr
¶ Posted 04 October 2010 § ‡ ° Is this a known species?
Location: East Coast of FL (Plam bay, FL 32908)
September 25, 2010 3:13 pm
I found this grasshopper looking bug on my patio. Viewed from the top it looks just like a Shrimp! and its back end is interesting because it has a 1/2-3/4 in stinger pertruding out its rear. it has no wings, very squishy underside and hard shell on the top. I hope you can help me identify it. I’ve sent it off to a friend who is going to have a professor look at it and try to identify it in a lab. My camera is not very good at taking close up pictures. I do have a video though of it if you wanted more detail. let me know if you want the video.
Signature: Angela Efinger
Conehead
Hi Angela,
This is a female Conehead Katydid in the genus Belocephalus. According to BugGuide, they are: “Usually associated with small palms, including saw and cabbage palmettos” and they have “been observed eating palm fronds.”
¶ Posted 25 September 2010 § ‡ ° September 3, 2010 @ 1:04 AM
A male Green Lynx Spider, my favorite Los Angeles spider, was hunting a male Katydid while his ladyKaty watched on horrified from the door jamb. I tried to save the Katydid and removed him and his mate jumped away. Too late I thought I might have caught them and refrigerated them, perhaps allowing them to warm up and eat every few days in a feeble attempt to keep them alive for live television. {They all want bugs. I don’t travel with bugs he thought as he suddenly remembered the dead Fig Eater he had picked up on the sidewalk on the way for Armenian food.} By the time I got the idea to photograph them, the LadyKaty was gone. By the time I thought to capture them and chill them, both Katydids were gone. I could always capture and chill that trophy Green Lynx, but I can’t bear to remove him from my yard. I know he will have lots of spiderlings.
Green Lynx fails to notice the Katydid behind it
Though moments earlier the spider had been stalking the Orthopteran.
Male Green Lynx Spider
In our garden, the female Green Lynx Spiders are usually found on foliage. This beautiful male was a bit out of focus in the previously posted image, so we found a sharper one where his pedipalps really show. We hope he stays on the porch light. We are going to talk to Julian Donahue about refrigerating insects to see how long we can keep specimens in the refrigerator before our tentative October interview on local news.
Male Green Lynx Spider
Morman cricket maybe
Location: outside of Pine, AZ USA
August 16, 2010 10:50 pm
Hey I was hiking in the pines around the mogollon rim near Pine, AZ USA. Between 4000 and 5000 feet above sea level. Found this one under a rock. About an inch and a half long. Figure its some type of katydid but not too sure.
Jeremy in AZ
Shieldback Katydid
Hi Jeremy,
Based on BugGuide imagery, we believe you are correct that this is a Mormon Cricket, Anabrus simplex, or at least one of the Shieldbacked Katydids in the family Tettigoniinae. The long swordlike ovipositor indicates she is a female. We will verify this identification with Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki.
Mormon Cricket
Piotr Naskrecki makes a Correction
September 20, 2010
Hi Daniel,
Please forgive this late reply, I only got back from remote forests of Suriname a few days ago.
The katydid in the photo is not a mormon cricket. It is a related shield-back katydid, almost certainly of the genus Eremopedes. Not sure of the species – it resembles E. balli, but the ovipositor is a bit too long.
Cheers,
Piotr Naskrecki, Ph. D.
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University
¶ Posted 17 August 2010 § ‡ ° Light Green hopper
Location: Stuttgart, Germany
August 15, 2010 7:16 am
Kids in our Church are finding these Light green insects that look like a grasshopper or cricket of some sort; Could you please help us to identify them.
The picture was taken in my office where we found this one sitting on top of a small cactus plant on my desk.
Kids at Victory Baptist Church
Immature Katydid
Dear Kids at Victory Baptist Church,
This is an immature Katydid. The undeveloped wings indicate it is immature. Katydids are similar to grasshoppers, but their most obvious physical difference is the antennae. Katydids have long antennae and are classified as the Longhorned Orthopterans, and Grasshoppers with their shorter antennae are classified as Shorthorned Orthopterans. We will contact an expert on Katydids, Piotr Naskrecki, to see if he recognizes your specimen.
Correction from Piotr Naskrecki
Hi Daniel,
This is not a nymph, but an adult male of Leptophyes punctatissima (Tettigoniidae, Phaneropterinae).
Cheers,
Piotr
Ed. Note: In some species of Katydids, the wings do not fully develop even as adults.
¶ Posted 15 August 2010 § ‡ ° Very strange yellow bug
Location: San Antonio, Texas
August 13, 2010 11:12 pm
I saw this bug on the garage door of a house while visiting Texas during the summer. Personally I thought it looked like a strange mix of an albino cockroach and a spider, and the largest bug I have ever seen outside of a zoo. It must have been just a little smaller than my hand. I’ve asked many other people but they can’t seem to figure it out, would love to know.
Thanks, Katy
Central Texas Leaf Katydid
Really Katy did you never see your namesake bug, a Katydid?
We believe this to be a Central Texas Leaf Katydid or Truncated True Katydid, Paracyrtophyllus robustus. According to BugGuide, they: “Feed on Oaks. During outbreaks, they are known for defoliating Post Oak (Quercus stellata) and plateau live oak (Quercus fusiformis).“ The ovipositor jutting from under the wing tips indicates that this is a female. The typical coloration of this species if green (see BugGuide), and they are sometimes red (see BugGuide), but yellow is a new color variation for us. For that reason, we are going to contact Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki for verification of the identification and to get his opinion on the frequency of this color variation.
Piotr Naskrecki confirms identification
Hi Daniel,
The yellow katydid on your website does indeed look like Paracyrtophyllus robustus. Yellow and pink morphs are not uncommon.
Cheers,
Piotr
¶ Posted 14 August 2010 § ‡ ° Green thing!?
Location: London
August 10, 2010 8:38 am
Hi there,
This thing appeared in my bathroom and has been chilling on the ceiling for the last few days, can’t for the life of me figure out what it is, seems pretty cool though, the images show it has some sort of hoop on it’s tail – I’d love to know what it is – I live in London so perhaps it’s not too exotic …
Marc
Long Horned Orthopteran
Hi Gene,
This is a Long Horned Orthopteran in the suborder Ensifera, and we believe it may be in the Cricket family Gryllidae. We are going to contact Piotr Naskrecki, and expert in Orthopterans, to get his input.
Piotr Naskrecki responds
Hi Daniel,
This is a male of the oak katydid (or bush cricket, as they call them in the UK), Meconema thalassinum (Tettigoniidae: Meconematinae.) This species has been introduced to the US, and is now very common in New England.
Cheers,
Piotr
Hi Daniel,
Thanks for the lightning fast response, very strange that I opened my bathroom door and the poor fella had died and was on the floor …
Anyway, thanks again – keep up the good work!
Marc
¶ Posted 10 August 2010 § ‡ ° Type of Grasshopper
Location:Cheyenne, WY
August 3, 2010 9:46 pm
Thank you for looking at my photos. Could you tell me what kind of grasshopper is in my photos? He’s about 3” long and has what looks like a stinger coming out of his backside. We live in Cheyenne, WY.
Daniel Wright
Sword Bearing Conehead
Hi Daniel,
The “stinger” that resulted in the common name of Sword Bearing Conehead is actually the ovipositor of the female. The Sword Bearing Conehead, Neoconocephalus ensiger, is a Katydid and you can read more about it on BugGuide.
¶ Posted 07 August 2010 § ‡ ° 
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