Moss Mimic Katydid
Subject: moss mimic
Geographic location of the bug: Costa rica
Date: 02/06/2018
Time: 06:45 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Just curious if what this is.
If you want more details of where this was found please let me know. I have lots more pictures of bugs. I hope this works out.
Thank you.
How you want your letter signed: B Wright
Is there a Moss Mimic here?
Dear B Wright,
We feel like we are playing game of “Find Waldo” here because we can’t really see anything in your image that looks like anything but moss. Perhaps it is the shallow depth of field that is obscuring any moss mimic you observed. We even magnified the image, cropping to the very center, and we still see nothing that we are able to identify. We have images of Moss Mimic Katydids from Costa Rica, a Moss Mimic Mantid from Costa Rica and a Moss Mimic Walkingstick from Costa Rica, but in most instances, they were photographed while not camouflaged on moss. Perhaps you can resend the image, cropping to just where you saw the creature, and we can try again.
Find the Moss Mimic
Update: Thanks to a new digital file from B Wright and a digitally enhanced image of the original courtesy of Insetologia editor Cesar Crash, we are ready to classify the Moss Mimic as a Katydid.
Brian Wright M.Ed, NBCT, ASM Master Teacher
Moss Mimic Katydid
Hi Brian,
Thanks for sending in a much sharper image. This is clearly a Katydid, and her ovipositor is also visible, meaning it is a female. Wing buds are also visible in your new image, meaning is it likely an immature individual or possibly a flightless species, more likely the former. Cesar Crash of Insetologia digitally enhanced your original image and believes it is a Katydid in the tribe Pleminiini, but his enhancement missed the ovipositor.
Digitally Enhanced Original Image (courtesy of Cesar Crash)
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