Subject: Grasshopper or what?
Location: Guadiaro, Cadiz
July 11, 2017 11:44 am
This little creature is sitting in the sun on the railings. Is unusual in size and colouring. Any ideas as to species?
Signature: Ken
Dear Ken,
This is a flightless female Katydid in the subfamily Tettigoniinae, commonly called a Bush Cricket in Europe, but we are having a problem narrowing down the genus and species. You can tell she is a female by her ovipositor on the tip of her abdomen, but the position of that ovipositor oriented under her body is very unusual. Most female Bush Crickets have the ovipositor extending past the end of the body. We cannot locate any similar images online at this time with this unusual backward ovipositor. We will attempt to contact Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki to see if he can provide an identification. Perhaps as in this FlickR image, the Katydid in your image has curved her body because she is in the act of beginning to lay eggs, though we don’t believe that is the case because this image on Minden Pictures of a Saddle-Back Bush Cricket from the genus Ephippiger laying eggs does not have such a backward facing ovipositor.
Piotr Naskrecki provides an identification.
Hi Daniel,
This is a female of Uromenus (Tettigoniidae: Ephippigerinae). The forward facing ovipositor means that she is simply probing the substrate to find a good place to lay eggs. At all other times the ovipositor is held in a typical, back-facing position.
Cheers,
Piotr
Ed. Note: Grasshoppers of EuropeBased on Piotr Naskrecki’s identification, we were able to locate this image from Cadiz on Invertebrados Insectarium Virtual. When it comes to Katydids, there is often much color variation within a species. Members of this genus are also represented on .
Dear Daniel
Many thanks for your comments and I am looking up the various links to understand a little more.
Thanks again
Ken