Subject:Â Giant Grasshopper
Geographic location of the bug:Â Tilaran, Costa Rica
Date: 06/12/2018
Time: 08:14 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:Â Please identify this cricket. I found it in the garden. It was very big for a grashopper (more than 10cm)
How you want your letter signed:Â Johannes
Dear Johannes,
This is not a Grasshopper, nor is it a Cricket. It is a Katydid, a member of the same insect order, Orthoptera. Katydids have long, slender antennae which distinguishes them from Grasshoppers. We have not had any luck making a species identification for you, but this female’s ovipositor is quite spectacular, which should help in the eventual identification.