Subject: Katydid Eating It’s Tail?
Geographic location of the bug: Atlanta, Georgia
Date: 07/30/2019
Time: 11:29 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: One more! This katydid has been hanging out on my front porch for 2 days now. I went outside about 11pm and it appeared to be eating its tail. I took a video as I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Do katydids self-cannibolize?
How you want your letter signed: Chel
Dear Chel,
Based on this BugGuide image, we are confident this is a female Common True Katydid, and what you are calling its tail is actually an ovipositor, and organ the female uses when laying eggs. The position your Katydid is in indicates she might be trying to lay eggs, based on this image of a Costa Rican Katydid and this image of a Katydid laying eggs in captivity, both from our archives. Your individual might have been grooming her ovipositor, which appeared to you to be autocannibalism.
