Subject: Cricket or Grasshopper
Geographic location of the bug: Azerbaijan
Date: 01/17/2018
Time: 12:14 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Hello,
I’m not sure if this is a grasshopper or a cricket let alone its species. Also is it a female as it has an enlarged ovipositor? If anyone can help me with the species and sex (if possible) I would be ever so grateful
How you want your letter signed: AM
Dear AM,
This is some species of Shieldback Katydid in the subfamily Tettigoniinae and it appears to have several red Mites on it. You are correct that it is a female.
Oh wow thank you very much for such a fast reply and pointing out the mites, we weren’t sure what they were! I didn’t realise Katydids had wings? Out of interest how can you tell the difference between a cricket and katydid? Do you think it would be eating one of it’s own species, do you know in what situation they turn to cannibalism?
Many thanks,
Alice Marlow
Many Shieldback Katydids will eat their own species if necessary.
An answer to the asker:
Many katydids have wings, but this one’s appear to be so short that it cannot fly. Also, many normally-herbivorous insects, including katydids, will engage in carnivory if they either find an already-dead corpse or are starving. Bugguide and other websites have detailed info on crickets vs. katydids.
An answer to the asker:
Many katydids have wings, but this one’s appear to be so short that it cannot fly. Also, many normally-herbivorous insects, including katydids, will engage in carnivory if they either find an already-dead corpse or are starving. Bugguide and other websites have detailed info on crickets vs. katydids.