When Do Katydids Come Out: A Friendly Guide to Their Appearance

Katydids, the fascinating insects known for their large, leaf-like appearance and enchanting songs, tend to emerge during the warmer months. They’re most commonly observed in late spring and throughout the summer. As temperatures rise, you may start to notice these intriguing creatures and the distinctive sounds they make.

When venturing outside during their active season, keep your eyes open for katydids camouflaged among foliage or listen for their captivating songs. The male katydids produce these alluring melodies as a way to attract females for mating, and they’re most active at night.

As the weather warms up, make sure to explore your surroundings and watch for katydids. Their presence not only adds an extra element of intrigue to your outdoor adventures but also serves as an indicator of a healthy ecosystem. Enjoy your encounters with these remarkable insects!

Understanding Katydids

Katydids, also known as long-horned grasshoppers, belong to the family Tettigoniidae within the order Orthoptera. These fascinating insects display a variety of behaviors and characteristics that set them apart from other insects. In this short section, we’ll briefly explore some key features of katydids and when they usually come out.

To begin, let’s quickly examine some unique traits of katydids:

• They have long, threadlike antennae, differing from grasshoppers’ short antennae.
• Their body color tends to be green, which helps camouflage them among leaves.
• Their average length ranges from one and a half to two inches.

Katydids’ lifecycle lasts about a year, and females usually lay their eggs toward summer’s end. The males possess sound-producing organs on their front wings, which contribute to their distinct singing sounds.

As for when they come out, katydids become most active during the warmer months of late spring, summer, and early fall. During this time, they are generally nocturnal creatures, and you’ll likely hear them singing at night.

In conclusion, by understanding a few basic characteristics and behaviors of katydids like their appearance, lifecycle, and singing habits, you can better appreciate these remarkable insects and know when to expect them in your surroundings.

Physical Characteristics

Anatomy

Katydids, belonging to the family Tettigoniidae, have some unique physical features that set them apart from other insects. They have:

• Long, thin antennae, which are usually longer than their body
• Six legs with four-segmented feet
• A set of wings that includes both forewings and hindwings
• An ovipositor in females, used for laying eggs
• A tympanum (ear-like structure) located on their forelegs or abdomen

These characteristics allow them to thrive in their environments and communicate effectively with each other.

Camouflage and Mimicry

One of the most fascinating aspects of katydids is their ability to blend into their surroundings. Their camouflage and mimicry skills include:

• Green body color that resembles leaves, making them nearly undetectable in trees or foliage
• Wing patterns that can mimic the appearance of flowers, further hiding them from predators
• Amazing resemblance to leaves, not only in color but also in shape and texture

This extraordinary camouflage helps katydids to avoid predation and thrive in their natural habitats, such as trees and flowers. The combination of their unique anatomy and impressive mimicry skills makes katydids an intriguing group of insects to study and appreciate.

Life Cycle of Katydids

From Eggs to Adults

Katydids, like other insects, undergo a series of changes as they progress through their life cycle. They begin as eggs, hatch into nymphs, and eventually become adult katydids. Let’s take a closer look at these stages:

• Eggs: Female katydids lay their eggs at the end of summer. The eggs are usually gray and oval in shape and are inserted along the edges of leaves.
• Nymphs: Nymphs resemble mini-adults and are wingless. They hatch and appear in April and May. These tiny creatures have black and white-banded antennae and undergo multiple molts as they grow.
• Adults: After 2 to 3 months and 6 to 8 molts, nymphs mature into adults. Adult katydids have long antennae, green color, and are about 1.5 to 2.5 inches in length.

Reproductive Cycle

The reproductive cycle of katydids revolves around mating, egg-laying, and the production of spermatophylax. Let’s explore these aspects further:

• Mating: Male and female katydids mate to produce offspring. Male katydids attract their female counterparts by producing sounds with their front wings.
• Egg-laying: Once mating has occurred, females carry out the process of egg-laying, as mentioned earlier.
• Spermatophylax: An interesting aspect of katydid reproduction is the production of spermatophylax. This is a nutritious gelatinous substance provided by male katydids during mating, which is consumed by females. This gift may help enhance the chances of successful reproduction.

Remember, the life cycle of katydids usually lasts for about one year. As you watch these fascinating insects in your backyard or local park, you’ll now have a greater appreciation for their unique life cycle and reproductive process.

Behavior of Katydids

Communication and Sounds

Katydids, also known as long-horned grasshoppers, are known for their unique sounds. They sing and chirp throughout the night as a form of communication. Their characteristic sounds are produced through a process called stridulation, which involves rubbing their wings together.

Males are the ones who produce these sounds, usually for territorial or mating purposes. For example, they might engage in duets with other males to establish dominance or attract a female. Some species even have aggressive calls to warn off potential threats.

Defense Mechanisms

The katydid’s primary defense mechanism is camouflage. They have a green body that resembles leaves which helps them to blend in with their environment, providing protection from predators.

Apart from their coloration, katydids also use their sounds for defensive purposes. As mentioned earlier, they can produce aggressive calls to ward off threats. Additionally, they can act defensively when startled, by making sudden, loud noises or even using their powerful hind legs to jump away from danger.

In summary, katydids are fascinating creatures with unique ways of communicating and defending themselves. By understanding their behavior, you can better appreciate these often-overlooked insects and their important role in the ecosystem.

Habitats and Distribution

Global Presence

Katydids thrive in various habitats around the world, especially in the tropics. They are widespread in the south, with some species even inhabiting the Amazon Rainforest. In these regions, you’ll typically find katydids in dense forests, grasslands, or shrubs.

Katydid in Gardens

Katydids can also be found in your own garden, nestled within flowering plants and shrubs. They are attracted to gardens due to the abundance of food and hiding spots. To encourage katydids in your garden, consider incorporating a mix of plants, flowers, and shrubs to create the perfect habitat.

• Pros of having katydids in your garden:

  • They contribute to natural pest control by preying on smaller insects.
  • They help with pollination as they move from flower to flower.

• Cons of having katydids in your garden:

  • They may nibble on leaves and flowers, causing minor plant damage.
  • Noisy mating calls during the night could be a disturbance.

In conclusion, the habitat and distribution of katydids are diverse, with these insects found in both tropical regions and local gardens. As such, it’s not uncommon to spot them in various habitats like forests, grasslands, shrubs, or even in your own backyard.

Diet and Predation

Feeding Patterns

Katydids, belonging to the family Tettigoniidae, have diverse feeding habits depending on their species. Most of the katydids, particularly those within the subfamily Phaneropterinae, prefer to feed on plant matter like stems, leaves, flowers, pollen, and fruits. You will often find them munching on lush foliage during the night to stay safe from predators.

Some katydids, including the Microcentrum species, are known to have different eating patterns:

• They mainly eat leaves and stems.
• Occasionally, they will also consume pollen and fruits.
• They tend to be more active during the night and remain hidden during the day.

Predatory Behavior

While many katydids consume plants, some species exhibit predatory behavior and are known to hunt for prey, including insects and other arthropods. Such predatory katydids typically have unique adaptations that aid them in their hunting.

For example, predatory katydids may have powerful mouthparts or strong forelegs that help them capture and subdue their prey. Engaging in predation can also offer a broader range of food sources and may even help control pests in their natural environment.

As you observe katydids in their habitat, it’s essential to understand the following characteristics:

• Diet may vary among species (plant-based or carnivorous).
• Most of them are nocturnal, with their feeding habits occurring primarily during the night.
• Certain katydids exhibit both herbivorous and carnivorous feeding patterns, showcasing their adaptability in different environments.

By learning about their diverse feeding patterns and predatory behavior, you can better appreciate the role these fascinating creatures play in their ecosystem.

Katydids and Pests

Katydids, being closely related to grasshoppers and crickets, are part of the Orthoptera order. They are mostly known for their leaf-like appearance and their nighttime chirping sounds. However, it’s important to note that some katydids, like other orthopterans such as locusts and grasshoppers, can cause damage to plants.

These insects feed on different parts of plants, such as leaves, flowers, and fruits. While the majority of katydids are not considered harmful pests, there are certain species that can be problematic when their population becomes dense. Some examples of problematic katydids include the larger grasshopper-like species, which can feed on and damage crops.

On the other hand, katydids are also known to prey on small insects like aphids. In this sense, they can be considered helpful in controlling the population of these smaller pests. It’s important to strike a balance between their beneficial and detrimental effects on your garden or farm.

Here’s a comparison of different orthopteran insects:

Insect	Size	Diet	Known as Pests	Beneficial Role
Katydids	1.5-2 inches	Plant-based	Sometimes	Prey on aphids
Grasshoppers	1-4 inches	Plant-based	Yes	Minimal
Crickets	0.5-2 inches	Omnivorous	Sometimes	Help break down organic matter
Locusts	1-4 inches	Plant-based	Yes	None

To keep your garden or farm healthy and prevent damage from katydids, it’s essential to monitor their population. If you notice an increased density of katydids or any sign of crop damage, take appropriate control measures to protect your plants. Always remember to use environmentally friendly and targeted methods when dealing with any pest problem.

A few ways to control katydids and other orthopteran pests include:

• Introducing their natural predators such as birds and parasitic wasps
• Using insecticidal soaps or oils targeting only the harmful insects
• Employing physical barriers like nettings to prevent them from reaching your plants

Special Species and Varieties

In this section, we will discuss some special species and varieties of katydids. They include the True Katydid, Angle Wing Katydids, Bush and Meadow Katydids, and Tropical Katydids.

True Katydid

The True Katydid (Pterophylla camellifolia) is a fascinating insect with unique features:

• It’s known for its loud and distinct song, which is often heard at night.
• Males produce the song by rubbing their wings together to attract females.

Some characteristics of the True Katydid include:

• Large size, measuring about 2 inches in length
• Green color, which helps them blend in with leaves

Angle Wing Katydids

Greater Angle-wing Katydids (Microcentrum rhombifolium) are distinguished by their striking appearance:

• They have large, angular wings that resemble leaves.
• They are usually green, sometimes with brown accents.

Advantages of their unique wing shape include:

• Better camouflage, allowing them to blend in with their environment
• Protection against predators

Bush and Meadow Katydids

Bush and Meadow Katydids, such as the Scudderia species, are usually smaller in size. Features of these katydids include:

• Variety of colors, such as green, brown, or yellow
• Their habitat ranges from bushes to meadows

Some benefits of their smaller size are:

• They can easily hide in the foliage
• Their agility allows them to quickly escape from predators

Tropical Katydids

Tropical Katydids showcase the most diverse characteristics:

• They inhabit warm, humid environments
• Many species exhibit vibrant colors and unique appearances

Here’s a comparison of the different katydids discussed in this section:

Species	Size	Color	Wings	Habitat
True Katydid	Large (2 in)	Green	No Angle	Forests
Angle Wing	Medium	Green/Brown	Angular	Various
Bush & Meadow	Small	Varied	No Angle	Bushes/Meadows
Tropical	Varied	Vibrant/Unique	Diverse	Tropical

By understanding the distinctions between these katydid species, you can better appreciate their role in the ecosystem.

Reader Emails

Over the years, our website, whatsthatbug.com has received hundreds of letters and some interesting images asking us about these insects. Scroll down to have a look at some of them.

Letter 1 – Paralyzed Drumming Katydids found in Nest of a Grass Carrier Wasp

 

Subject: paralized grasshoppers in nest above my door?! Could they be victims or wasps?
Location: Andover, MA
July 2, 2012 7:53 pm
I opened my screen door and out drops dozens of small green grasshoppers (not sure what kind) onto my head!…
They are alive but not able to move very much. My guess is they were parasitized by a wasp. If this it true, I’m assuming wasp eggs were laid in these pretty little things.
I would love to know for sure!
Thanks BugMan!
Roberta
Signature: covered in grasshoppers

Hi Roberta,
We will be writing to both Piotr Naskrecki and Eric Eaton to try to get to the bottom of this food chain mystery.  These are not Grasshoppers because their antennae are too long.  They are some immature Longhorned Orthopteran in the suborder Ensifera.  The specimen in hand appears to be a juvenile female because of the presence of an Ovipositor.  Perhaps Piotr who specializes in Katydids can provide species or genus information.  Thank you for including the nesting material.  It is most unusual and we do not know of a Parasitic Wasp that uses straw to build a nest, but perhaps Piotr or Eric will know more on that subject.

Piotr Naskrecki identifies Katydids
Hi Daniel,
Cannot tell you much about who paralyzed these katydids (my guess would be a sphecid wasp of some kind), but the insects themselves are nymphs of Meconema thalassinum, a European species, introduced and now common in the Eastern US.
Cheers,
Piotr

Ed. Note:  BugGuide identifies Meconema thalassinumas the Drumming Katydid.

Eric Eaton provides a likely Predator:  Grass Carrier Wasp
Hi Daniel, Piotr:
Very interesting!  The wasps building the straw nests would be “grass-carriers” in the genus Isodontia, family Sphecidae.  I think the host here would be a new record since the wasps are native but the prey is not.  There are at least three or four Isodontia spp. in Massachusetts, so without at least an image of the wasp we can’t make an association.
Eric

Update from Roberta:  Larvae Emerge
Hi Daniel,
Thanks for the response. Larvae have started emerging from the katydids.  I have attached a couple of photos.  I did the best I could without a macro lens.
I have wasps buzzing around my house with little pieces of straw in-hand.   So a wasp came to mind as the culprit when the katydids dropped on my head.
They are still on my deck;  I would like to put them out of their misery if that’s okay?
Thanks again!
Roberta

Ed. Note:  We missed Roberta’s first update and we added them to the original posting out of order.
Hi Roberta,
We somehow missed your first update.  While we understand the sympathy you feel for the Katydids, we can’t help but to marvel at the cache of Drumming Katydids that the Grass Carrying Wasp assembled and we hate to see that effort go to waste.  We wish you could provide a suitable substitute habitat and let nature take its course.

Update from Roberta:  Photo of the predator
Hi Daniel,
I attached a photo of the wasp .  I believe this is the species of wasp that is parasitizing the Drumming katydids.   There were a number of these wasps flying around carrying pieces of grass.  This one, however, isn’t.
I hope this helps.
Thanks!
Roberta

Hi Roberta,
We feel we are making a conviction based on circumstantial evidence, but we are nonetheless pleased to arrive at the same conclusion that you have:  that this Grass Carrier Wasp or one of its relatives built the grass nest that was provisioned with immature Drumming Katydids.  Thank you so much for the follow-up.  This is exactly the type of interactive posting we love, complete with expert testimony.  Additionally, through a continued effort on your part, you photographed the interconnectivity between these two species, the predator and the prey.  It should be noted that like other wasps that prey upon insects, it is done for the purpose of feeding a brood.  The adults feed on nectar, most likely because during the evolutionary process, parents that did not compete with their young for the same food supply produced more offspring since food did not have to be shared.

Hi Daniel,
The scientist in me decided to let nature take its course; I placed the katydids in a covered area of my yard.
I kept one of the katydids to follow the development of the Grass Carrying Wasp.
I will let you know if I am successful in raising the wasp to adulthood.
Thanks so much for your wonderful site.
Roberta

 

Letter 2 – Koringkriek from South Africa

 

Big Bug in Kruger
Location: Letaba Rest Camp, Kruger National Park, South Africa
July 28, 2011 4:09 pm
Hi there Bugman,
What’s this bug? One of the most fascinating creatures I’ve ever captured on film. We met on mondaymorning May 29 back in 2006 in Kruger National Park. Would like to know his name.
Thanks in advance!
Tom from The Netherlands

Hi Tom,
This is a Longhorned Orthopteran, Eugaster longipes, and it is called a Koringkriek.  We posted a photo back in 2009 when we did all the original research.  The Wilkinson’s World Blog calls it an Armored Ground Cricket.  The Encyclopedia of Life website classifies it as a Katydid in the family Tettigoni1dae, and we would surmise that it is also a Shield Backed Katydid in the subfamily Tettigoniinae.

Letter 3 – Moss Mimic Katydid from Costa Rica

 

Subject: Big grasshopper!!
Location: Monteverde, Costa Rica
February 5, 2016 11:24 pm
Hello Mr. Bugman!
I am so happy to have found your website. I am often curious as to what kind of bug I’ve found and now there is a resource! I have here a picture I took at Cala Lodge in Monteverde, Costa Rica last month. This huge grasshopper looked like he would camouflage very well in a tree. Helooked like he had a piece of leaf sticking out of his neck. Can you tell me what kind of grasshopper this is?
Thanking you in advance for your time,
Signature: Lise

Dear Lise,
This is NOT a Grasshopper.  It is a Katydid.  We believe it is a Moss Mimic Katydid, Haemodiasma tessellata, a highland species that is already pictured on our site, or a closely related species in the same genus.  We noticed you have three additional identification requests, all titled as Katydids.  We did not look at the images yet.  If they are in fact all Katydids, we will attempt to get Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki to verify our identifications when they are all posted.

Piotr Naskrecki Responds
Hi Daniel,
Yes, the big, mossy katydid is Haemodiasma tessellata.
Cheers,
Piotr

That’s excellent!  Thank you for taking the time to look into this photo.  A moss mimic katydid.  How cool is that!?  🙂  I can’t wait to go back to Costa Rica.  I plan to pay way more attention to the insects there next time.  So different from what we have here in northern Canada.
Thanks again,
Lise

Letter 4 – Mimicking Snout-Nosed Katydid from Australia

 

Australian Grasshopper
April 10, 2010
Hi Bugman, would this be a grasshopper? Besides the eyes, I was also curious about the reddish/orange thing it had on its neck, but looking at grasshopper photos I guess it’s its mouth, not a tick or something gorging on it…
Best,
Ridou
Ridou Ridou
Sydney Australia

Hi Ridou,
Nice to hear from you again.  This is not a grasshopper, but rather, a member of the same order, but classified as the suborder Ensifera of Long-Horned Orthoperta, and the family Tettigoniidae of Katydids, and the subfamily Conocephalinae of Coneheads.

We were unable to find a match on the Brisbane Insect website, and time if precious right now, so we are requesting assistance from an expert in the family, Piotr Naskrecki.  Stay tuned for an update.

Hi Daniel,
This is a female of Pseudorhynchus, possibly P. lessonii, but impossible to
say based on the photo.
Cheers,
Piotr

With that information, we discovered on the Australian Museum website that this genus is known as the Mimicking Snout-Nosed Katydids and that: “It has strong mandibles for cracking grass seeds and, if carelessly handled, can give a nasty bite.”

Letter 5 – Katydid from Mexico

 

This bug looks like a green leaf
Fri, Nov 28, 2008 at 7:12 AM
My dogs found this green “leaf” bug on my front walk this morning. I live at Lake Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico. The bug was moving very slowly. I don’t know if it was injured when one dog pawed in a little but all legs seem to be intact. It opened its “leaf” wings slightly once. What is it and what is its purpose?
Susy
Lake Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico

Hi Susy,
This is some species of Katydid in the family Tettigoniidae, but we cannot provide you with a species name. Most, but not all Katydids are plant feeders. You question this Katydid’s purpose and that is a loaded question. Each creature occupies a specific niche in the balance of nature, and to remove any individual species may ultimately tip the scale, upsetting the equilibrium of the entire planet. Some may question that the balance has already been upset.

Update:
Daniel:
Here is what he had to say about the other two katydid posts….
Eric

Sunday, November 30, 2008, 5:25 PM
Hi Eric,
1. I noticed two new posts about katydids at WhatsThatBug.com … the second is a species of Stilpnochlora(Phaneropterinae) from Mexico (possibly S. azteca, but it is hard to be
certain as females in this genus are very similar to each other.) …
Cheers,
Piotr Naskrecki

Letter 6 – Mexican Bush Katydid

 

Subject:  Santa Barbara Bug
Geographic location of the bug:  Santa Barbara CA
Date: 09/01/2018
Time: 11:19 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  This guy crawled into our house today.  Can’t figure out what it is! Any thought what it might be? Thank you!
How you want your letter signed:  Alison

Dear Alison,
This is a male Bush Katydid in the genus Scudderia, and we believe it is the Mexican Bush Katydid, Scudderia mexicana because BugGuide states: “The only Scudderia species found in Los Angeles” with the further elaboration that it “Displaces S. furcata in its southwestern range, and overlaps range in California north from about Monterey County.”  Here is a BugGuide image for comparison.  Like other Katydids, the males are able to make sounds to attract a mate and they are among the chorus of insects that fill the warm summer evenings with sounds.

Letter 7 – Lichen Katydid from Colombia

 

Subject:  Rare in my garden
Geographic location of the bug:  Abejorral, Colombia
Date: 06/11/2018
Time: 12:15 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hi, this handsome guy come to visit on November to February to my house. What is that?
How you want your letter signed:  Claudia

Dear Claudia,
The beautiful lacy pattern on this Lichen Katydid, Markia hystrix, allows it to be perfectly camouflaged on mosses and lichens that are often found growing in its habitat.  You can view additional images on Project Noah.

Letter 8 – Mystery Moroccan Orthopteran is Armored Ground Cricket

 

Giant beetle in Anti Atlas mountains Morocco
When looking for information about a giant beetle we saw in the Anti Atlas mountains in Morocco i came across your website. You have any information about this giant bug? Regards,
Joost de Wall

Hi Joost,
This looks to us like some type of Orthopteran, the crickets and katydids. We will see if Eric Eaton can assist us. Here is Eric’s speedy response: “The mystery Moroccan orthopteran is an Armored Ground Cricket, which is actually a flightless katydid in the subfamily Hetrodinae. Apparently they are not uncommon in desert habitats.”

Update: (07/03/2008) Katydid IDs from Piotr Naskrecki
Hi,
I have been looking at the page with unidentified katydids (Katydids 2), and thought I could help with some ID’s. From top to bottom they are: Moroccan katydid – Eugaster (possibly nigripes)

Letter 9 – Pink Katydid Nymph

 

pink insect
Hi,
Can you identify this insect? I found it in Plaquemines parish in southeastern Louisiana. The color amazed me, I promise I didn’t adjust the color on the photo!
Ann

Hi Ann,
This is a Katydid Nymph. We cannot tell you the exact species, but perhaps one of our readers can. There are several species of Katydids that are normally green to blend in with foliage that they eat. Occasionally there are pink sports like yours. Perhaps this is so they would blend in while eating pink flowers.

Update: 907/03/2008) Katydid IDs from Piotr Naskrecki
Hi,
I have been looking at the page with unidentified katydids (Katydids 2), and thought I could help with some ID’s. From top to bottom they are: Amblycorypha sp. (pink nymph)

Letter 10 – Moss Mimic Katydid from Costa Rica

 

Katydid Costa Rica
Sun, Dec 21, 2008 at 9:50 PM
Hi, again! I love this site! Here are two pictures of what looks to me like a katydid. It resembles the Panama Sylvan katydid – Acanthodis curvidens that is shown on this site, but the coloration is quite different. I assume mine is a female. It was sitting on the side of a concrete block used to surround some gardening stuff. It sat very still for the photos and is about 3-4 inches long. Perhaps the genius at Harvard who identified the other katydids can have a go at this one?
Mary Thorman (Pura Vida Photos)
south western Costa Rican highlands

Hi Mary,
We have contacted Piotr Naskrecki and we hope he will be able to provide you with a species identification of this awesome looking Katydid from Costa Rica.

Hi Daniel,
This is Haemodiasma tessellata, a gorgeous moss mimic, often found in mid-
to high elevation forests. They sometimes fly to light at night, which may
explain finding it around the house. I would be curious to know where and
when the pictures were taken.
Cheers,
Piotr

Update: December 26, 2008
Hi, Daniel!
Please tell Piotr that a found the moss mimic katydid two weeks ago.  I live in a rural/wooded area of Costa Rica at about 1200 meters.  It is on the Pacific slopes of the Talamanca Mountain range in southern Costa Rica.  I have two hectares of secondary highland forest (with a corridor of primary forest near a stream on the property).  I also raise organic fruits, vegetables, and medicinal plants.  I found the katydid just sitting on a concrete block near my house one morning as I was putting bananas and other fruits on a bamboo feeding platform near my bedroom window.
What does tesselata mean?  I also raise a type of live bearing cockroach called Archimandrita tesselata.  Wish I’d known bugs were so fascinating when I was young enough to study entomology more thoroughly than I did for basic biology classes.  I wound up becoming a professional field gerontologist instead.  But I was an insect collector for the Smithsonian when I lived in Florida where I also raised various insects just to watch them, do some non traumatic experiments, and learn about them.  I even wrote some tongue-in-cheek articles about the joys of raising various insects for several newspapers.
Now that I’m retired I enjoy combining my interest in living things with my hobby of photography.  There is always something new.
If you know of anyone who would like a place to stay near the Wilson Botanical Gardens and Organization for Tropical Studies research center near me while they do field studies, please tell them I have a very nice guest room available.  It would be fun to have a guest who is interested in biology.
Sincerely,
Mary (Chiki) Thorman
Linda Vista de San Vito
Puntarenas
Costa Rica

Letter 11 – Mountain Katydid from Australia

 

Black Katydid Bogong High Plains
November 5, 2009
What type of bug is this? We saw it on the 20th of January 2008. Near Falls Creek ski resort in the Victorian Alps. Bogong High Plains, Victoria Australia.
Matt Gawler
-36° 53′ 32.36″, +147° 17′ 26.20″

Hi Matt,
We had no luck identifying your black Katydid on the Brisbane Insects website. Perhaps one of our readers will have better luck searching the internet than we have had.

Hi Daniel:
I haven’t checked out all the possibilities but this looks very much like a male Mountain Katydid (Acripeza reticulata). Females of the species are flightless. Check out this link to “Dave’s Garden” for more photos and lots of information. Regards.
Karl

Letter 12 – Katydid from Mongolia

 

Subject: Mongolian insect
Location: Mongolia
February 22, 2014 11:06 am
I was in Mongolia and saw this giant cricket/grasshopper like creature. The biggest one I saw measured about 4 inches in length. They had no visible wings and only crawled along the ground much like a potato bug.
Signature: Erin

Dear Erin,
This Orthopteran is a Shieldback Katydid.  We will try to contact Piotr Naskrecki to see if he is able to provide a genus or species name.

Piotr Naskrecki provides an identification
Hi Daniel,
A very interesting creature – this katydid is Deracantha, probably D. mongolica (Tettigoniidae: Bradyporinae: Zichyini). This group of insects has an interesting mix of very advanced and basal (“primitive”) morphological characters that may help explain the origin of sound production in katydids. Some species in this tribe have highly modified tarsi (feet) that are equipped with crampons-like spikes that help them walk on smooth rocks.
Cheers,
Piotr
Piotr Naskrecki, Ph. D.
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University

Thanks so much Piotr,
So, it is a Katydid, but not a Shieldback, and it is in a subfamily that is not represented in North America, correct?

Letter 13 – Musical Black Legged Meadow Katydid, we believe

 

Subject: Identification Required
Location: St Louis, Missouri
April 22, 2014 2:35 am
Hi
This was taken in Sept 2013 – there was alot of them about and they were very noisey
Signature: Helen

Dear Helen,
We are nearly certain your Katydid is a Black Legged Meadow Katydid, Orchelimum nigripes, based on this image posted to BugGuide.  Your individual is a male and it is the males of the species that produce the sounds.  There is additional information on BugGuide. 

Letter 14 – Palmetto Conehead

 

Subject: cricket or grasshopper
Location: SouthWest FL
August 23, 2013 7:43 pm
I have this bug in south FL we call the shrimp bug. It has jumper legs like a cricket or a grasshopper but looks like a shrimp. I ask many pest control company’s what it is, and nobody can give me a good answer. Here are a couple of pics. Can you identify this critter? Thanks
Signature: Larry A.

Dear Larry,
This is neither a cricket nor a grasshopper, but it is classified in the same insect order, Orthoptera, as both crickets and grasshoppers.  This is a Conehead, a species of Katydid in the genus Belocephalus.  According to BugGuide:  “Usually associated with small palms, including saw and cabbage palmettos” and “Has been observed eating palm fronds.”

Letter 15 – Nonnative Female Shieldback Katydid

 

Subject: Bug id
Location: Norther Maine
July 27, 2014 11:00 am
Just wondering what this one is. I haven’t seen it before. Looks like a cross between a cricket and a grasshopper.
Signature: Nathan

Dear Nathan,
This is an Eastern Shieldback Katydid in the genus Atlanticus, but we are not certain of the species.  Piotr Naskrecki, a Katydid expert, often assists us with species identifications when we are stumped, but he is currently collecting in Mozambique.  We will attempt to contact him, but we may not hear back for some time.  Meanwhile, you can compare your individual, which is a female based on her curved ovipositor, to the images posted to BugGuide.  According to BugGuide, they are “Omnivorous, eat other insects (living and dead), fruits, leaves, flowers of a variety of vegetation” and “Said to be strong biters.”

Correction Courtesy of Piotr Naskrecki
Hi Daniel,
Not an Atlanticus but an invasive species from Europe, Metrioptera roeselii (still very pretty, though.) It is common across the NE US.
Cheers,
Piotr

Thanks Piotr.  According to BugGuide:  “An introduced species from Europe first found in Montreal in 1953 (1).  Both long and short-winged forms exist. The long-winged forms can fly some distance and are more commonly collected here than in Europe.”

Letter 16 – Katydid from India

 

Subject:  Katydid in glorious pink?
Geographic location of the bug:  Goa, India
Date: 01/11/2018
Time: 06:45 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Found this sitting on a gate in the foothills of the Western Ghats. 50mm long with 50mm antennae. Any idea?
How you want your letter signed:  Colin P

Dear Colin,
We are posting your image of a Katydid, and we are contacting Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki to see if he can assist in the identification of what we believe to be an immature individual. 

Letter 17 – Katydid from Indonesia

 

Subject: Katydid Identfication
Location: Batam, Indonesia
March 31, 2016 3:16 am
We found this female katydid last night and are trying to identify her…the underside of her legs are a pretty aqua blue and the ends of her wings are blunt instead of pointed like so many of the pictures we have been looking at.
Signature: Laura

Dear Laura,
We will contact Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki to see if he can provide an identification for your Katydid.

Letter 18 – Katydid from Indonesia

 

Subject: What’s this insect??
Location: Indonesia
April 5, 2016 2:38 am
Hi Bugman,
We came home today to find this insect stuck to our door. We have lived here for the past 8 years and have never seen this.
I’ve lived in tropical Indonesia for the past 36 years and have never seen it…
To me it looks like a moth which looks like a piece of bark… Help…
Signature: Preeti, who has a son (8) who NEEDS to know,

Dear Preeti,
We believe this is a Katydid in the family Tettigoniidae, and either its hind, jumping legs are missing, or they are hidden under the wings.  We will attempt to contact Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki to see if he can verify our identification and possibly provide a species name.  Your individual resembles this image on Media Storehouse.

Hi Daniel,
Thanks for the responding so quickly.
It’s 3rd set of legs are hidden under his wings… I just couldn’t take a picture of them.
A Katydid…thanks for letting me know what it is so that I can investigate it on the net and tell my son.
Thanks again.
Regards,
Preeti

Letter 19 – Katydid from Israel

 

Isophya from Israel
Hi WTB,
Fantastic site you have here! I check in on it every day, and I’d like to contribute something from this part of the globe. Here is an Isophya nymph from Israel, north of Jerusalem. The picture was taken in March 2007. Its hebrew name translates to something like ‘Little chubby fairy’. It is a bit cherubic, isn’t it? Best Regards,
Ben Schatz
Israel

Hi Ben,
Thanks for your kind compliment and also for your photo contribution to our Katydid section.

Update: (07/03/2008) Katydid IDs from Piotr Naskrecki
Hi,
I have been looking at the page with unidentified katydids (Katydids 2), and thought I could help with some ID’s. From top to bottom they are: Israel Isophya (possibly Isophya, but this individual is an immature)

Letter 20 – Katydid from Japan

 

Subject: Katydid?
Location: Japan
October 13, 2016 4:46 am
Found this bug on a bush in a field of tall grass in Osaka, Japan on Ocober 2. It was about 3-4 cm long. As soon as I snapped the picture, it jumped off into grass & hid.
Can you tell me what it is?
Signature: Karen

Dear Karen,
We believe we have correctly identified your Katydid as a male Gampsocleis buergeri on the Natural Japan site where it states:  “These huge katydids (bush-crickets) are everywhere at the moment. They sit perfectly camouflaged on leaves and then half jump, half crawl into the foliage making so much disturbance that it’s like a much larger animal is lurking there. Once you get used to spotting them before they disappear, it’s possible to sneak up and take photos.”  According to National Geographic Creative which has an image of a female of the species with her long ovipositor, this Katydid is called “Kirigirisu” in Japan.

Letter 21 – Katydid from Malaysia

 

Location: East coast peninsular Malaysia
January 18, 2013 10:00 am
Hello! Found these two beauties outside my hotel room in peninsular Malaysia. A big bulky butterfly and some sort of katydid that wasn’t very pleased with my presence.
Help me identify them please! Love the website by the way.
Signature: spl0uf

Hi spl0uf,
In trying to research this Katydid, we found a posting in our archives from Borneo that looks very much like your insect.  When we received that image, we requested assistance from Eric Eaton who forwarded our information to Katydid expert Piotr Nasrecki from Harvard who wrote back:  “This pretty animal is either the genus Olcinia or Sathrophyllia, both common katydids in Borneo and peninsular Malaysia (hard to tell them apart without seeing the wing venation.) They are members of the Pseudophyllinae:  Cymatomerini.”  We now contact Piotr regularly when we have a Katydid inquiry.  We are now awaiting his response.

Letter 22 – Katydid from Malaysia

 

Subject: Katydid Identification
Location: Tapah Hills, Perak, Malaysia
May 14, 2013 10:55 am
Hi Bugman,
here is a picture of a katydid found in Malaysia, last April 2013. It secrets an irritating fluid that you can see on the picture. Unable to find a match on internet, can you help me ?
Signature: Bernard

Hi Bernard,
We did locate a matching image on Flickr, but it was not identified either.  We contacted Piotr Naskrecki from Harvard to see if he is able to assist with a species or genus identification.  Your comment about the irritating fluid is interesting.

Letter 23 – Katydid from Peru

 

Another unknown katydid from Peru
Location: Shima, near Satipo, Junin, Peru
February 10, 2011 3:38 am
I would be grateful for any help with the identity of this orthopteran found in central Peru.
Signature: Peter Bruce-Jones

Hello again Peter,
We only have time to post one of your newly submitted Katydid images this morning and we do not have time to contact Piotr Naskrecki.  We will wait until later in the week to trouble him again.

Hi Daniel,
No problem. I am happy to proceed with these at whatever pace is most convenient.
Peter

Letter 24 – Katydid from Peru

 

Katydid of Peru
Location: Peru, South America
September 16, 2011 8:06 am
Hi Bugman,
My brother took this image in Manu National Park, Peru. I believe it is an Orophus sp. But would like an expert opinion
Signature: Sebastian Bawn

Hi Sebastian,
We will contact Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki to see if he can confirm the identification of this dried leaf mimic Katydid.  We located this other photo of a leaf mimic Katydid from Peru, but it does not appear to be the same as your individual and it is not identified.  We do not believe your individual resembles the Orophus species on this wonderful Conservation Report web page on leaf mimicking creatures.

Letter 25 – Katydid from Suriname

 

Subject: I am not sure what this is?
Location: Raleighvallen/ Voltzberg are located in the Central of the Suriname Nature Reserve. Suriname, South America
October 14, 2016 12:33 pm
Found it in July 2015 sitting on wood near the river.
Signature: Magdalena Bartsch

Dear Magdalena,
Thanks to Getty Images, we are pretty certain your male Katydid is in the genus Paraphidnia.  Based on an image posted to Research Gate, it might be Paraphidnia rubricorpus.

Letter 26 – Katydid from the West Indies

 

Grasshopper or Locust
Location: Saint Lucia, West Indies
May 6, 2012 7:15 pm
Dear Bugman,
I can’t figure out if this is a cricket, locust, or a grasshopper. It is about 3 in. long. It also makes a lot of chirping noises at sunset. Please help and thank you for your time!
Signature: Clueless in Castries

Dear Clueless in Castries,
You are not that clueless.  True locusts are grasshoppers and Grasshoppers belong to the order Orthoptera.  This Katydid is also in the order Orthoptera.  It is distinguished from a grasshopper by its much longer antennae, though it appears to be standing on its antennae rather and having them extended forward.

Letter 27 – Katydid IDs

 

Ed. Note: (07/07/2008) We have just spent about two hours updating the Katydid 2 page based on corrections and identifications sent to us from Piotr Naskrecki, Director of the Invertebrate Diversity Initiative of Conservation International and Research Associate with the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University.

Katydid ID’s
Hi,
I have been looking at the page with unidentified katydids (Katydids 2), and
thought I could help with some ID’s. From top to bottom they are: [there was a very long list here] Incidentally, it would make it a much easier job for people who know what these things are if each entry had an e-mail link “Identify this insect”. Alternatively, each entry should have a unique code (e.g., Katydid_002, Grasshopper_125 etc.) to make it easier for people to refer to a particular image. Otherwise a great site, keep up the good job. Cheers,
Piotr

Letter 28 – Katydid in French Guyana

 

Please can you identify this creature
Mon, Jan 26, 2009 at 12:56 PM
Hi, please could you help us identify this creature which my brother snapped in his little corner of the jungle near Cayenne, French Guyana – it is obviously hanging on a tree in the photo, is well camouflaged and looks pretty scary – he has never seen anything like it before, despite living there for about 5 years. Is it poisonous or dangerous (should he be worried??!)
Frankie
French Guyana

Hi Frankie,
This is a harmless female Katydid.  What appears to be a dangerous stinger is really an ovipositor.  We thought this might be a Moss Mimic Katydid like one from Costa Rica that  Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki identified for us in the past.  When we wrote to Piotr, here was his response:  “Hi Daniel,  Very hard to say from these photos. It looks more like Acanthodis than Haemodiasma (which does not occur in Fr. Guiana.)  Piotr”

Letter 29 – Katydid from Madagascar

 

Subject: Another Madagascar Katydid
Location: Madagascar
October 30, 2013 7:07 am
Hi again Daniel
As promised I’m attaching another interesting Katydid from Madagascar. Location is the same as the previous specimen. Enjoy.
Regards,
David.
Signature: David

Hi again David,
Thanks for sending us another Katydid from Madagascar.  This individual is a female.  We will again contact Piotr Naskrecki to see if he can provide a species identification.  We hope to have all updates done today as we will be away from the office for a week beginning tomorrow.  Since we postdated your previous submission, we are going to change the date so it will go live now and the link will be active.

Piotr Naskrecki Responds
Hi Daniel,
This is either Odontolakis or Centrocephalus (Concephalinae: Agraeciini), but likely an undescribed species. I have collected a very similar looking species in Ranomafana.
Cheers,
Piotr

November 7, 2013
Hi Daniel
I have another few Katydids from Madagascar that I’d like to send through to you but I realise you’re just back from your break and I don’t want to overwhelm you while you clear your backlog. Would it be ok if I sent through another ID request to yourself and Piotr this week? If not I will wait another week before sending anything through. I was very excited to see Piotr’s comment that my last submission was an undescribed species.
Hope you had a good rest,
Best regards,
David.

Hi David,
Please wait for the weekend.  Our backlog is significant, but gainful employment demands are far greater.

Letter 30 – Katydid from Madagascar

 

Subject: Another Madagascar Katydid
Location: Madagascar
November 9, 2013 9:17 am
Hi Daniel
Here’s another Madagascar Katydid as mentioned. The color is very interesting. Any help with an ID would be really great.
Thanks,
Signature: David

Hi again David,
We are posting your photo of a female Katydid from Madagascar and we hope Piotr Naskrecki will be able to assist in a more specific identification.

Letter 31 – Katydid from Malaysia

 

Subject: Grasshopper
Location: Malaysia
March 4, 2015 10:37 am
hello 🙂 im doing my insect collection project for my entomology class. however, i have difficulty in identifying the bugs that i have collected. whatsthatbug.com is the only hope i have now as i have searched google for this creature but failed to find it. i found this friend in my bedroom. hope anyone can help me identify this species.
Signature: anyhow

Dear anyhow,
This is a Longhorned Orthopteran in the suborder Ensifera, most likely some species of Katydid.

Letter 32 – Katydid Molting in Costa Rica

 

Subject: Katydid
Location: Cloud Forest, central Costa Rica
March 8, 2016 3:15 am
This photo was taken, during the night, in September, in cloud forest of Central Costa Rica, at a height of 4500′. I think the katydid is shedding its skin. Please can you identify it?
Signature: calculus

Dear calculus,
We haven’t the necessary skills to identify your Katydid based on your lovely image of a molting individual.  Perhaps one of our readers will have better luck.

Thanks for trying.  Could you even suggest a family name?
Thanks
calculus

All Katydids are in the family Tettigoniidae.

Letter 33 – Katydid from Nicaragua

 

Subject: Interesting Bug from Ometepe, Nicaragua
Location: La Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua
December 13, 2013 2:45 pm
Hi Bugman,
I took a trip to Nicaragua in October and spotted an interesting looking insect while I was on the island of Ometepe in Lake Nicaragua. It was on a gate post in a forested area. It was about 4 inches long and my guide, an Ometepe local, had never seen this particular type of insect before. Any idea what it was?
Thanks!
Signature: Allison from SF, CA

Hi Allison,
This is some species of Katydid, and it is a female as evidenced by the ovipositor protruding from the end of the abdomen.  We will try to contact Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki to see if he can provide a species or genus name.

Piotr Naskrecki Responds
Hi Daniel,
This is a nymph of Ancistrocercus sp. (Pseudophyllinae), but hard to say which species.
Cheers,
Piotr

Thanks so much for the info!!!

 

Letter 34 – Katydid Nymph

 

immature insect
I was curious about this colorful insect I recently found, I assume it is an immature form, but of what I do not know. The hind legs remind me of a grasshopper.
Anthony

Hi Anthony,
This is an immature Katydid. Katydids are related to grasshoppers, being in the same order, but different families.

Letter 35 – Katydid Nymph

 

Subject: Assassin Bug?
Location: Torrance, southern California, U.S.A.
May 25, 2013 10:17 pm
Found this in my front yard in the jasmine, it is very small (less than an inch) and I snapped a picture of it, then asked my friends what they thought it was. It has sparked an argument and we have decided that it is probably some sort of assassin bug, but I have perused pages and pages of photos and have not seen anything that looks like this. Do you know?
Signature: Erica

Hi Erica,
We are so happy to hear that the identification of this insect has sparked a dialog as to its identity.  It is not an Assassin Bug, but rather an immature Katydid.  Adult Katydids often resemble large green grasshoppers with long antennae.  We are postdating your submission to go live in early June since we will be away from the office and we want daily updates to our site.

Thank you so much! I’m glad to hear that it’s not an Assassin Bug and I really like Katydids. By the way, I love the site and use it frequently, keep up the good work. Thanks again!

Letter 36 – Katydid Nymph

 

Subject: Orthopteran? Coleoptera?
Location: Virginia coast, Chesapeake bay, U.S.
June 20, 2017 3:17 pm
Photo taken east coast U.S. near Chesapeake bay, virginia
Signature: Joe

Please disregard previous identification request — I found out the insect in question is a katydid, scudderia-genus nymph

Hi Joe,
Your image of a Bush Katydid nymph is just too cute to disregard, so we posted it.

Letter 37 – Katydid Nymph

 

Subject:  Grasshopper, Katydid, or something else?
Geographic location of the bug:  Austin, Texas
Date: 06/13/2019
Time: 03:41 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  We hail from the northeast and have found that everything is bigger in Texas when it comes to insects!  This one didn’t jump or fly when we approached but lazily stretched one leg at a time almost as if exercising. My youngest was concerned when we found a brown version with large “stinger” but his brother though it to be an ovipositor.
How you want your letter signed:  The Meroff family

Dear Meroff family,
This is an immature Katydid, but we are not certain of the species.  The fact that it is a nymph means it has not finished growing.  Your son is correct about the “stinger” actually being a harmless ovipositor.

Letter 38 – Katydid Nymph

 

Subject:  What is this beauty?
Geographic location of the bug:  Granger, Indiana
Date: 07/31/2019
Time: 03:08 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  I found this beauty chillin’ on my snowball bush.  Seemed like a friendly guy.  I loved the red making on its back and it reminded me a bit of a grasshopper. What do you think it is?
How you want your letter signed:  Alida

Dear Alida,
Thinking your submission was of a beauty significantly affected our desire to view what you were describing.  This is an immature Katydid, possibly a Lesser Angle-Winged Katydid based on this BugGuide image, and according to BugGuide, Indiana is well within the range of this species.  Katydids and Grasshoppers are both classified withing the same insect order, Orthoptera.

Letter 39 – Male Katydid from Costa Rica: Arachnoscelis species

 

Subject:  Listroscelis or Arachnoscelis?
Geographic location of the bug:  La Cangreja National Park, Puriscal, San José, Costa Rica
Date: 01/09/2018
Time: 06:13 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Months ago I found this weird looking katydid. I know  it is from subfamily Listroscelidinae, but I’m confused about its genus. I think is a Listroscelis or an Arachnoscelis but can’t find out which the difference between them. Hope you can help me.
How you want your letter signed:  Dariel Sanabria

Dear Dariel,
Immature insects are often more difficult to identify than adults for several reasons.  First, they often look very different from adults, and secondly, adults are frequently more well documented than are immature stages.  We will send your image to Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki to see if he can provide a conclusive identification for you.

Piotr Naskrecki provides a correction and identification.
Hi Daniel,
This is indeed Arachnoscelis, an adult male. Hard to say which species without seeing a closeup of the abdominal apex.
Cheers,
Piotr Naskrecki, Ph. D.
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University

Letter 40 – Katydid Nymph from Indonesia

 

Subject: katydid probably
Location: Manglayang Mountain, West Java, Indonesia
February 21, 2013 4:42 am
Hello Daniel,
I met this guy on 04.17.2011 (photo 01) in the forest north of Bandung, West Java, Indonesia.
recently 02.17.2013 (photo 02) I met him again (Manglayang Mountain, West Java, Indonesia). I guess this one is a katydid but I’m not sure…
Signature: Mohamad Idham Iskandar

Hi Mohamad,
All of your lovely photos are a wonderful way to introduce our readership to the insect fauna of Indonesia.  You are correct that this is a Katydid, but it is a nymph, and we doubt that we will be able to identify it to the species level, though it does remind us of North American Bush Katydid nymphs.  Your individual resembles this immature Katydid posted on Monga Bay.

Hi Daniel,
Thanks for the compliment Daniel :), but the real wonderful thing are whatsthatbug.com and all the staffs for their efforts to help people to know something amazing that they didn’t know, especially for me here in Indonesia where I hardly find someone who care about them (bugs).
World of insects always amazes me, colors, patterns, shapes, how they live… speechless…
Ohhh… last night I just got series of photos of a molting striped lynx spider… and I want to share it with whatsthatbug.com readers… after processing it though… 🙂
-Mohamad Idham Iskandar

 

Letter 41 – Katydid nymph from Italy

 

Subject: Bug in the Veneto
Location: Lozzo Atestino (PD), Italy
June 16, 2013 10:55 am
My friend who lives in Lozzo Atestino (PD), Italy, has several of these gorgeous cricket-looking thingies at his house in the Colli Euganei. He is trying to learn what they are and what they might eat (one hopes not grape vines nor olive trees). Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Signature: Anna

Dear Anna,
This is a Katydid, a group of insects classified with crickets in the suborder Ensifera.  We did a superficial search and could not come up with any matching images of this colorful specimen.  We will try to contact Piotr Naskrecki, a Katydid expert, to see if he can identify the species, however, we suspect he is out of the office on a collecting trip as he did not respond to our last few identification requests.

Piotr Naskrecki responds
Hi Daniel,
This is a male of Barbitistes sp. (Phaneropterinae). They are quite polymorphic and range from light green to nearly black in their coloration. Hard to say which species without being able to see the cerci, though.
Cheers,
Piotr

Comment
After the email from Piotr Naskrecki I found this link (http://www.unipd.it/esterni/wwwfitfo/barbitistes.htm) showing the species “Barbitistes vicetinus”, which appears to be common exactly in Veneto. See also a picture here: http://www.unipd.it/esterni/wwwfitfo/immagini/Barbitistes%20Forma%20tipica%20maschio.jpg. Maybe you could send the first link to Anna. The page describes what they eat, which is what Anna wanted to know.
Ciao,
Saverio

Thanks Saverio

No problem. I am a lawyer and I know nothing about bugs, which scare the hell out of me. For the same reason, I am fascinated by any kind of bug/spider. So, in case you need help for Italian-related questions, let me know: while I am no entomologist, I love to investigate …

Letter 42 – Katydid Nymph from Singapore

 

Subject: Singapore Katydid
Location: Singapore
March 22, 2014 10:20 pm
Hi Daniel.
I’ve seen this Katydid on Flickr from a few different photographers but no one has a name for it. I was able to photograph it for the first time this week and I’d love to be able to put a full name on it. Maybe Piotr would have some idea? It seems pretty distinctive so it might be ‘easy’ for him to ID.
Hope you’re well,
Signature: David

Dear David,
This Katydid is an immature nymph, and many times nymphs greatly differ from adults in coloration and markings.  We found a matching individual on DeviantArt, but as you indicated, it is not identified.  It is also unidentified on Singapore Nature.  As you requested, we will contact Piotr Naskrecki to see if he can identify this colorful little guy.

Letter 43 – Katydid from Spain: Thyreonotus corsicus

 

Subject: cricket in Spain
Location: Andalucia, Spain
November 21, 2016 11:48 am
Hello,
there are a lot of large crickets here in Southern Spain. The one in photos I found from a walkway in June this year. The body was around 25 mm but legs very long. A special looking creature I think.
If you would be able to identify this would be very nice.
Kind regards,
Signature: Pasi

Dear Pasi,
Though they are related, your insect is a Katydid, not a Cricket.  We found a matching image on FlickR, but it is not identified, so we continued to search until we found another image on FlickR that is identified as Thyreonotus corsicus.  Here is another FlickR image.  Here is a nice blog with some information and an image and range map on Nature du Gard.

Dear Daniel,
thank you for really great help in identifying this insect! I have today checked also the links you sent, very good.
Kind regards,
Pasi

Letter 44 – Katydid specimen from Mexico

 

Subject: Orthoptera identification
Location: Mexico Chiapas
February 20, 2017 10:24 am
HI,
I recently purchased this specimen. It came with no name, other than Orthoptera ssp. The location on the collection data did indicate Mexico Chiapas. It’s quite beautiful. Anyone know what the genus and species name is?
Thanks!!
Signature: Bug Lady

Dear Bug Lady,
Your file is labeled as “Grasshopper” but this is actually a Katydid in the family Tettigoniidae.  We believe Katydids sometimes lose their color after death, so many bright green species appear quite faded as mounted specimens.  We will contact Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki to see if he can provide a species name for you.

Thank you!! Any help is greatly appreciated!
Katja Hilton
Amazing & Beautiful Butterflies

Piotr Naskrecki provides an identification.
Hi Daniel,
This is Moncheca pretiosa (Tettigoniidae: Conocephalinae: Copiphorini).
Cheers,
Piotr
Piotr Naskrecki, Ph. D.
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University

Ed. Note:  As we suspected, the living Moncheca pretiosa we have in our archives is much more beautiful than the mounted specimen.

Thank you so much…Wow, they really do fade!
Katja Hilton

Letter 45 – Katydid from Thailand

 

Subject: Leaf Bug
Location: Phrao, Chiang Mai, Thailand
August 3, 2014 7:29 pm
Hi bugman
I’ve tried to look this one up but always found bugs that were far too small to be this one and looked too different. From what I remember when I took this photo was when I tried to get it down to have a closer look it took flight and flapped more like a bird then buzzing bug. Kind of freaked me out. Maybe I was seeing things but if you can confirm what this is it would be great. Thanks for the hard work.
Signature: PsychPeter

Dear PsychPeter,
This is some species of Katydid in the family Tettigoniidae, and most species of Katydids from all over the world are excellent leaf mimics.  We will try to contact Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki to see if he can provide a genus or species for this individual that looks very similar to a Sylvan Katydid, Cratioma sp., Piotr identified for us in the past.

Letter 46 – Katydids

 

Hi,
I’ve wasted at least an hour on the web trying to identify the bugs on my tomato plants. I had hoped I could simply locate them without having to ask, but apparently not.The only thing that it almost looks like is the nymph squash bug, but that’s definitely not what I’ve got. The body is orange with little black dots on the abdomen, and it has six black legs and it has a sucker that it sticks into the plant like a mosquito in your skin. I originally thought they were harmless as they appeared all of a sudden one day but didn’t seem to be doing any damage.I shook them off, but they keep coming back–now I squish them if I can find them. They are less than a centimeter long and leave my leaves with a million little pinprick-looking holes–I’m not sure if they’re eating the fruit. Also, I haven’t been able to locate any eggs, or a younger or older version. Please, hopefully you can tell me what these things are!
Thanks,
Tracy in Louisiana

Dear Tracy,
It sounds like you may have the nymph stage of the Keelbacked Treehopper (Antianthe expansa) which feeds on solanaceous garden plants, mainly peppers and tomatoes, though I have also found them on eggplant. The adults are green and winged, and sometimes appear along with large colonies of nymphs. They move quickly, trying to avoid danger. They have sucking mouthparts, and drain the life giving sap from their host plants, so though they do not eat the tomatoes proper, they can do considerable damage to the plants. This is compounded by the secretion of honeydew, which attracts ants as well as increasing the chances for secondary infections to the plants. Eradicate them.

Hello again,
Sorry to report, but that’s not what I’ve got. The bodies are much skinnier and they really are distinctly orange with just the few little black dots on the abdomen. I’ve captured one and noticed that they molt and right afterwards, their whole bodies (including legs and antennae and sucker) are orange temporarily, then the legs antennae and sucker go back to black.If you can’t identify them, it isn’t the end of the world. But do you think that if I water the plants with soapy water it will kill them? (This was my mom’s suggestion.) And does the type of soap matter? (I used Palmolive)
Thanks again,
Tracy Morton

Hi again Tracy,
Let’s try this again.;Sometimes the nymph stage of an insect is radically different from the adult, at least in color. Most katydids are green, but the nymph of the Fork-Tailed Bush Katydid (Scudderia mexicana), as well as other members of the genus Scudderia, is orange with blue and black markings. Try looking at the photo of Scudderia furnica on this website to see it that is what you have. Remember, there are slight color variations between individuals. http://kaweahoaks.com/html/katydid.html
Regarding the soapy water question: make sure that the soap is very dilute, or it might do more damage to your plants than the bugs you are trying to eradicate. I like Ivory, but Palmolive is also mild.

October 1. 2002 it looked like a grasshopper with way long legs like if a spider and a grasshopper mated or something and i think it might have been able to fly, im in the midwest, please tell me what this evil creature was that scared me nearly to death? jenny

Dear Jenny,
Was it green? It might be a species of katydid. Check out other letters on our site that go into details about the habits and life cycles of these relatives of the grasshoppers. It isn’t really evil, and though they eat the leaves of plants, they are not known to occur in such large numbers to really be considered a pest. There are many romantic stories associated with katydids.

Letter 47 – Katydids

 

katydid far from home?
Hi,
Last summer two male katydids courted a female above my front door for a couple of weeks, which was really exciting because I live in Vancouver, Canada – not exactly prime katydid territory. I spent hours trying to identify their species, researching them online, using taxonomic keys, and comparing ovipositors, but I kept getting stumped when it came down to species’ range maps. Based on anatomy alone, I was 99% sure that our visitors were drumming katydids (Meconema thalassinum), despite the fact that all the information I’d found on the species puts their range about 3500km east of here. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a clear enough photo to submit to you (unless you can id blurry green blobs) and so the best I could do was to reassure myself that I’d identified them correctly. Well, lo and behold, a lone male has appeared in the same spot again this year and I have a brand new zoom lens for my camera. I’d be really grateful if you could confirm that this IS a drumming katydid and if so, how rare the species is out here. I mean, should I be calling up the local entomology department to have them document the find? Or is the info I’ve found totally out of date & these guys are really common in BC? Thanks so much! You guys rock!
C.S.

Dear C.S.,
We also believe your identification of the Drumming Katydid is correct. There is a near identical match on BugGuide and the range is listed as Southern New England. Why is it in Vancouver? Global Warming? Possible accidental introduction? We think you should check with local experts and we will inquire with Eric Eaton if he has an opinion on the matter. Thanks for sending in your photo and story. Eric Eaton has verified the identification: “Yes, it is a drumming katydid (male), and its occurence should probably be reported to provincial agriculture authorities, eh? Seriously, it may be of interest to BC entomologists.”

Update: (07/03/2008) Katydid IDs from Piotr Naskrecki
Hi,
I have been looking at the page with unidentified katydids (Katydids 2), and thought I could help with some ID’s. From top to bottom they are: Meconema thalssinum

Letter 48 – Katydids

 

On the road again
Hi
Driving through the Texas hill country last year these guys were walking across the road. They were all over the place but walking. He stopped in his tracks when I got within 4 feet. I’d guess he is about 3 inches long. I used the zoom feature on my camera not wanting to get any closer. LOL
Wesley O’Rear

Hi Wesley,
Last year there was a significant mass emergence of the Truncated True Katydid, Paracyrtophyllus robustus, in this pink/brown variation in Texas. This species is most often green. Before we realized your spectacular photo was a year old, we thought there might be another mass emergence.You can see more on BugGuide. He is a she as evidenced by her swordlike ovipositor.

Letter 49 – Keeled Shield-Back Katydid

 

shield back?
These long-horned grasshoppers or katydids were near a pond opening in an Oregon fir forest — north coast range area. Can you ID from the photos? They were plentiful. Photos taken July 15, 2006. Thanks,
Lona

Hi Lona,
This is a Keeled Shield-Back Katydid, Neduba carinata. They are found in coastal areas from California to British Columbia.

Letter 50 – Kekoa the Katydid: Died in captivity

 

Kekoa the Katydid – RIP
Location: Vancouver, Washington
January 2, 2011 4:41 am
Well, she lived much longer than I had originally thought she would after laying her eggs, and I’m not happy to see her go, but I’ve got her babies to watch for in the spring and maybe raise one of them in her stead. Left four days ago for a new years trip, came back early rather than on Monday because of family issues, to discover my brother telling me he’d seen her face down in the bottom of her cage for a while, and she hadn’t been moving. I checked on her, and sure enough she was dead, and her body starting to brown. Even in death I think she is beautiful. Sad to see her go, but her role in life was done, and I’m proud to have helped her live it through 🙂
Found her on Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11th
She laid eggs on Nov. 23rd through 27th (more here:  She laid eggs on Nov. 23rd through 27th)
Passed away either Dec. 30 / 31st
When her babies start to emerge, I’ll take pictures and help increase the Katydid picture resources! 🙂
Signature: Sincerely, Kaetlin the bug fanatic

Dear Kaitlin,
Thanks for keeping us informed of the death of your pet Katydid.  As you indicated, her life in captivity probably increased her longevity.  We hope she has produced viable eggs for you and we look forward to additional updates when the eggs hatch.

Letter 51 – Kekoa's Eggs: Bush Katydid lays eggs in captivity

 

Bush Katydid Eggs
Location: Vancouver, Washington
December 3, 2010 10:46 am
Hi, it’s the gal with the bush Katydid named Kekoa, again. I said I’d update on her if she laid eggs – and on Nov. 23rd she did! I waited a day or two after the laid, what seemed to be her last clutch of eggs, and then took out the leaves she’d lain in so I could proffer new ones, in case she’s not done yet.
I’ve counted 17 eggs, that I can see inside leaf-pockets, and several more discarded on the ground of her terrarium. I had thought she’d bee a Katydid who’d lay eggs over a stick or elsewhere, and didn’t think that she’d want thick leaves to lay in, so by a stroke of luck on a snowy day I grabbed some ivy leaves, later that night she went to town. I sent a message in a few days earlier with pictures of her actually laying the eggs – but here are ones of the eggs by themselves.
Signature: Sincerely, Kaetlin the bug fanatic

Hi again Kaetlin,
We waited a bit to post this update because we were so late in posting the previous update of Kekoa in Captivity.

Letter 52 – Koringkriek or ShieldBack Katydid

 

What’s this bug?
Location: Kruger Park, South Africa
April 19, 2011 12:12 am
Saw this on a recent trip to Kruger Park in South Africa resting on the screen door to our cabin and had a hard time believing it was real.
Signature: pete

Dear Pete,
Several years ago we received a similar image which we identified as a ShieldBack Katydid, commonly called a Koringkriek in South Africa.  Koringkriek is an Afrikaans word, and it is also known as an Armored Ground Cricket.  In addition to the links we found on the earlier posting, there is some information on the Wilkinson’s World website.  The BugBitten website also lists the common name Gogga.  You may also want to visit the World’s Best Photos of koringkriek web page.

Letter 53 – Koringkriek from South Africa

 

Subject: Koringkriek
Location: 25 km before Colesberg area
December 27, 2016 12:48 pm
We found this koring krieket at our overnight stay coming back from Betties Bay.
Signature: Hendrik

Dear Hendrik,
Your Koringkriek image is a marvelous documentation of this South African Katydid.  According to Piotr Nakrecki of The Smaller Majority:  “Despite their bulky appearance and scary-looking armature, these wonderful katydids are, like most insects, completely harmless. Their spikes and horns are nothing more than protection against birds and lizards, and can only be used to make their body more difficult to swallow – they cannot jab, poke, or cut anybody with their armor. The katydids’ only other defense is reflexive bleeding, quite similar to that seen in oil beetles that I recently wrote about. But unlike the beetles, whose blood contains deadly cantharidin, that of the katydids is not toxic. And, in contrast to other katydids who sometimes try to nibble you if handled, armored katydids never, ever bite, no matter how roughly they are treated.”

Letter 54 – Leaf Mimic Katydid from Trinidad and Tobago

 

Subject: Can u please tell me what kind of insect is this?
Location: Trinidad and Tobago, Caribbean
February 19, 2016 4:05 pm
Hello, thank u for any assistance u can provide in indentifying this bug. I live in the Caribbean and usually come across some interesting bugs but this one has me so curious. Again thank u for whatever information u can provide.
Signature: Kimberly

Dear Kimberly,
We believe this is a Leaf Mimic Katydid, Pycnopalpa bicordata, a species we located on PBase.  There are many nice images on FlickRiver, and according to Insects and Spiders of Trinidad, it is found in your area.  

Letter 55 – Lichen Katydid from Costa Rica

 

Subject: crazy grasshopper in costa rica
Location: Costa Rica
October 30, 2016 7:20 pm
Hi,
Sorry for all the submissions tonight. My husband and I live in Costa Rica and are aspiring nature photographers who see a lot of weird bugs and insects, but I will try not to overwhelm you with my hundreds of cool shots 🙂 Our neighbor took this photo of a strange ghost jellyfish looking grasshopper, any idea what kind it is? Thanks
Signature: Kari Pinkerton Silcox

Dear Kari,
This is not a Grasshopper.  It is a Katydid.  We located a matching image on SongStar, but alas, it is not identified.  It is identified as Markia hystrix on Nature Images and it is called by the common name Lichen Katydid on iNaturalist.

Letter 56 – Lichen Katydid from Ecuador

 

Subject: unknown katiedid/grasshopper
Location: Pastaza, Ecuador
August 12, 2012 12:25 am
I took these pictures last October in the Amazon in Ecuador and I have had no luck figuring out what it is.
Signature: bjkalma

Dear bjkalma,
It seems that worldwide, Katydids have a knack for being able to mimic their natural surroundings, however many exotic species seem otherworldly when they are photographed against more neutral backgrounds that cause them to stand out as opposed to blending in.  We did a web search of Katydids in Ecuador and quickly found this link to Gail Shumway Photography that identifies this as a Lichen Katydid, Markia hystrix.  We then hoped for a more scientific website to corroborate that ID and we found a photo on Animals and Earth with the Lichen Katydid as well as the lichen it mimics.  An individual from Panama is also pictured on Project Noah.  Thank you for this fine addition to our archive.

 

Letter 57 – Magnificent Female Katydid from Panama

 

Subject: Can you ID this one??
Location: Boquete, Panama
February 13, 2017 7:41 am
Good Morning!
We are currently living in Boquete, Panama. Found this guy on my fence rail yesterday afternoon. Can’t find any info on it. If you could give me a name that would be great.
Thanks!
Signature: Susan

Dear Susan,
Though we are posting all of your images, had we to choose a single image, it would be the lateral view that really displays the distinctive dark orange-brown ovipositor on this magnificent female Katydid.  The coloration is quite different, but it is not too dissimilar from this Moss Mimic Katydid from Costa Rica in our archives.  This immature individual on Project Noah also shares many similarities.  We will attempt to contact Piotr Naskrecki to see if he can provide a species name.

Piotr Naskrecki provides an identification
Hi Daniel,
This is Acanthodis curvidens, (Pseudophylinae).
Cheers,
Piotr
————————————————————————–
Piotr Naskrecki, Ph. D.
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University

Ed. Note:  We did find this image of a male on FlickR.  Here is another FlickR  image.

 

 

Letter 58 – Male Central Texas Leaf Katydid Nymph

 

Subject: Green 6 legged insect with 2 wings and long antanae
Location: San Antonio Texas
May 21, 2013 3:05 pm
I’ve never seen this insect before
Signature: Marcus Guerra

Hi Marcus,
We believe this is a male Central Texas Leaf Katydid nymph, Paracyrtophyllus robustus, also known as the Truncated True Katydid.  We identified it on BugGuide.  Most of our photos are of the red form, so it is nice to receive your photo of the green form.  BugGuide notes:  “‘Red Katydid’ – vernacular name in Texas. Isolated individuals are green, whereas outbreak individuals are mostly pink.”  This must not be an outbreak year.

Letter 59 – Male Drumming Katydid

 

Subject:  Strange green insect
Geographic location of the bug:  Rural western Pennsylvania, Somerset county
Date: 08/03/2018
Time: 06:05 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Found this little critter in my bathroom, hanging out on my wall.
How you want your letter signed:  Thanks, and blessings. Stan.

Dear Stan,
This is an introduced male Drumming Katydid, Meconema thalassinum, which you may verify by comparing your image to this BugGuide image.  According to BugGuide:  “A tiny, sea-green katydid with a tympanum fully exposed on each foretibia. Forewings longer than hindwings. No stridulatory area apparent at base of male forewings. Male cerci long, slender, tubular, curving upwards” and the range is “Europe. Introduced into North America; currently Michigan & Ohio east to Atlantic coast; sw. British Columbia to w. Oregon, and likely still expanding. See also BugGuide range map for an indication of the expansion of the range into neighboring states.”

Letter 60 – Male Greater Meadow Katydid

 

Subject: grasshoppers
Location: Madera Canyon, AZ
November 4, 2016 2:18 pm
Many different species of grasshopper in the multible biomes of this southeastern part of Arizona near the Sky Islands and in Madera Canyon. A mix of oak woodlands, succulents and pines in the upper region. I’ve tried to ID them online, but nothing looks quite what I photographed. One naturalist said one was a differential grasshopper, but again I didn’t see the resemblance.
Signature: Thank you, Leanne Grossman

Dear Leanne,
We believe we have a second identification for you.  Grasshoppers generally have shorter antennae, and we believe this individual is a male Greater Meadow Katydid in the genus Orchelimum, and we also believe he is an immature specimen as the wings are not yet fully developed.  Compare your individual to this BugGuide image.  There are Arizona sightings on BugGuide.  According to BugGuide:  “many Orchelimum have some white mottling or other coloration, such as red.”

Letter 61 – Male Shieldback Katydid from France

 

what is it
Location: Southern France
June 30, 2011 3:36 pm
saw this bug in the bedroom, would be interested to know what it is.
Signature: Dave

Hi Dave,
This is a male Shieldback Katydid, and we believe it is in the genus Ephippiger.  We will try to get additional information.

Letter 62 – Meadow Katydid

 

a katydid
Greetings! I saw this in mid August in a Cypress swamp in Hilton Head, SC. I thought it was a grasshopper, but then I started looking on your site and realized that it is a Katydid. A Red-headed Meadow Katydid?? Just a wild guess. thanks. I love your site.
Betsy Higgins

Hi Betsy,
According to images posted to BugGuide, we believe you have the genus correct, but that this is a different species of Meadow Katydid. We favor Orchelimum minor.

Update: (07/03/2008) Katydid IDs from Piotr Naskrecki
Hi,
I have been looking at the page with unidentified katydids (Katydids 2), and thought I could help with some ID’s. From top to bottom they are: Meadow katydid – Orchelimum (possibly eythrocephalum, but this is a nymph)

Letter 63 – Meadow Katydid

 

Subject: Trying to identify this creature
Location: Oklahoma City, OK, USA
November 20, 2015 9:10 am
This was found dead on a window sill in Oklahoma City, OK this past week. I’ve tried googling the image to no avail. Could you help me?
Signature: Anne Reynolds

Dear Anne,
This is a Katydid, and the sickle-like ovipositor indicates she is a female.  We believe she is a Meadow Katydid in the genus Orchelimum, possibly the Long Spurred Meadow Katydid, Orchelimum silvaticum, which is pictured on BugGuide. or possibly the Common Meadow Katydid, Orchelimum vulgare, which is also pictured on BugGuide.

Letter 64 – Meadow Katydid Nymph

 

Subject: Cattail Katydid
Location: Dallas, Georgia
July 15, 2013 2:49 pm
I thought you would like this additional photo of this lovely little guy. Found it in my house near the front door. After taking the photos I released it to the world outside.
Signature: Tweakie Molinari

Hi Tweakie,
Thank you for your submission, but we are not fully convinced that this is a Cattail Katydid, though we do agree it belongs to the same subfamily Conocephalinae which includes Conehead Katydids and Meadow Katydids.  Based on photos submitted to BugGuide, this might be a very young Straight-Lanced Meadow Katydid, Conocephalus strictus.

Letter 65 – Meadow or Cone-headed Grasshopper

 

Cricket?
I can’t tell you what a find you were on the internet. Today, I was photographing insects on milk weed. I found six different insects. These three are not in any of my books. I think this is a tree cricket of some kind.
They where in Orland Grassland in Orland Park Illinois.Thanks again… you are great!
Suzanne

Hi Suzanne,
This is a nymph stage of a Long Horned Grasshopper, probably the subfamily Conocephalinae, known as Meadow Grasshoppers by Borror and Delong and as Cone-headed Grasshoppers online. Our best guess might be Conocephalus dorsalis, a Short Winged Cone-headed Grasshopper which we found photographed as an adult female on Angelfire. Your photo is of a young female because of the ovipositor.

Letter 66 – Moroccan Bush Cricket

 

Subject: What’s this big Moroccan bug?
Location: Morocco
May 31, 2017 3:17 pm
Hi Bugman,
Can you help identify and tell me more about this bug? It was huge and looked like a grenade with legs!
Spotted in Morocco and the locals call it a Black Bettle.
Look forward to your opinion!
Thanks,
Signature: Pilot Pete

Dear Pilot Pete,
We found this old posting from our archives that Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki identified as being in the genus Eugaster, but that is a black individual and your individual is much lighter.  Based on images posted to Orthoptera Species File, we believe your individual is Eugaster spinulosa.  There is some amusing information on Revolvy, including:  “It is known as the whistle cricket, because herdsmen would dry it and pull off its legs, in order to use the cricket as a whistle.” 

Letter 67 – 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

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.

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.

Letter 68 – Moss Mimic Katydid from Costa Rica

 

Subject: From Costa Rica
Location: Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica
November 1, 2012 3:54 pm
Hello Bugman,
I found this strange looking bug (cricket?) on my water bottle in my house a few weeks ago at night. I took it outside afterwards. Thanks!
Signature: Chris

Hi Chris,
We have posted photos of Moss Mimic Katydids from Costa Rica before, and we are not certain if your individual is the same species.  We will contact Katydid expert Piort Naskrecki to see if he can verify this Katydid’s identity.

Hi Daniel,
Thank you!  I have asked several Costa Ricans and they have no idea what kind it is.  I looked at the link for the Moss Mimic and it does look similar but still somewhat different so I am interested in the verification.
Regards,
Chris

Letter 69 – Moss Mimic Katydid from Guinea: Batodromeus subulo

 

moss camo orthoptera
Location: Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea
March 2, 2011 4:38 pm
found this guy on bioko island in a caldera. thought it was pretty neat. would you be able to id for me?
Signature: tim

Hi Tim,
We have been getting some interesting photos of moss and lichen mimicking Katydids from various places in the world lately, and we have been enlisting the assistance of Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki in the species or genus identification.  We will write to Piotr to get his opinion.

Piotr Naskrecki provides an identification
Hi Daniel,
This is a pretty rarely collected beast, Batodromeus subulo (Pseudophyllinae, Pleminiini). The genus Batodromeus is remarkably similar to the neotropica moss-mimicking genus Championica, but the two do not appear to be closely related.
Cheers,
Piotr

Thanks Piotr,
Is it rare because it is endemic to the caldera?
Daniel

Daniel,
This species is not endemic to Bioko, it is known also from Cameroon, but it is very rarely collected because of its association with canopy epiphytes. In 5 years of katydid collecting in West Africa I only managed to find one individual of the genus Batodromeus.
Cheers,
Piotr

On Mar 4, 2011, at 2:20, daniel marlos <dmarlos@roadrunner.com> wrote:

Letter 70 – Moss Mimicking Katydid

 

Re: Raspy cricket from Australia
Hi Bugman,
When I first saw the image submitted of the ‘raspy cricket’ from Australia, I thought it was a moss mimicking katydid. It’s fascinating how similar they are in appearance. I had submitted my photo to your site, and did receive an e-mail reply, but apparently my image was not sufficient for an ID. I did manage to eventually get it identified:
This a nymph of Championica montana Saussure & Pictet, 1898 (Pseudophyllinae, Pleminiini), a gorgeous moss mimicking katydid, common in Mesoamerica. I never managed to record its call, but its close relative, C. cristulata, has a very bird-like, frequency modulated call, very unusual for New World Tettigoniidae. Cheers,
Piotr
Piotr Naskrecki, Ph. D.
Director, Invertebrate Diversity Initiative
Conservation International

Dear Nancy or Piotr,
We are sorry we failed in the original identification of this Moss Mimicking Katydid. We recall these images, but it seems we never posted them to our site. When we are very busy, sometimes we don’t have time to post everything we want to post or should post. Please provide us with some background. When and where was the photo taken? Was it photographed in Nicaragua in 2005 as the name of the digital file implies? Also, was this letter submitted by Nancy and is Piotr the expert who identified it? Is there a good link with information on the species?

Hi Daniel,
Yes, the katydid was photographed at Selva Negra, Nicaragua in 2005. I have copied the entire e-mail chain for you as it gives everyone’s titles as well as a few sites. Hope this info is helpful to your site. p.s. I just bought a camera with Macro capability and am headed back to Selva Negra in January. I’m going to check out that huge boulder again 🙂
Nancy Collins, Wisconsis

Editor’s Note: Here is Nancy’s original email (that was sent to several knowledgeable experts as well as to What’s That Bug?) and responses she received.
(08/28/2007) Greetings,
Is there any advice you can give me on how to find the name of this insect? I encountered it in Nicaragua. It was about 6 inches long, and was very flat. The hind legs were flat against the rock. It was sharing a huge boulder with hundreds of spiders. Thank you for your time,
Nancy Collins, Wisconsin

Tom – what do you say about this critter?
Lyle Buss
Insect Identification Laboratory
Entomology & Nematology Dept.
University of Florida

Flat Nicaraguan Katydid
Piotr,
Can you identify this beast? The best I could do was to suspect it was a Pseudophylline.
Thomas J. Walker
Department of Entomology & Nematology
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

Dear Tom,
This a nymph of Championica montana Saussure & Pictet, 1898 (Pseudophyllinae, Pleminiini), a gorgeous moss mimicking katydid, common in Mesoamerica. I never managed to record its call, but its close relative, C. cristulata, has a very bird-like, frequency modulated call, very unusual for New World Tettigoniidae. Cheers,
Piotr Naskrecki, Ph. D. Director, Invertebrate Diversity Initiative
Conservation International
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University

Hi Nancy,
Thanks for providing us with this wonderful identification chain and also for resending your photos to us despite us failing to provide you with and identification. As your email chain indicates, even qualified experts had difficulty with the exact identification. Identification of many rain forest species is nearly impossible without the help of specialists.

Letter 71 – Mt Washington Drama: Male Green Lynx interrupts Katydid Romance

 

September 3, 2010 @ 1:04 AM
A male Green Lynx Spider, my favorite Los Angeles spider, was hunting a male Katydid while his ladyKaty watched on horrified from the door jamb.  I tried to save the Katydid and removed him and his mate jumped away.  Too late I thought I might have caught them and refrigerated them, perhaps allowing them to warm up and eat every few days in a feeble attempt to keep them alive for live television.  {They all want bugs.  I don’t travel with bugs he thought as he suddenly remembered the dead Fig Eater he had picked up on the sidewalk on the way for Armenian food.}  By the time I got the idea to photograph them, the LadyKaty was gone.  By the time I thought to capture them and chill them, both Katydids were gone.  I could always capture and chill that trophy Green Lynx, but I can’t bear to remove him from my yard.  I know he will have lots of spiderlings.

Though moments earlier the spider had been stalking the Orthopteran.

In our garden, the female Green Lynx Spiders are usually found on foliage.  This beautiful male was a bit out of focus in the previously posted image, so we found a sharper one where his pedipalps really show.  We hope he stays on the porch light.  We are going to talk to Julian Donahue about refrigerating insects to see how long we can keep specimens in the refrigerator before our tentative October interview on local news.

Letter 72 – Mystery Moroccan Orthopteran is Armored Ground Cricket: Eugaster guyoni

 

Giant beetle in Anti Atlas mountains Morocco
When looking for information about a giant beetle we saw in the Anti Atlas mountains in Morocco i came across your website. You have any information about this giant bug? Regards,
Joost de Wall

Hi Joost,
This looks to us like some type of Orthopteran, the crickets and katydids. We will see if Eric Eaton can assist us. Here is Eric’s speedy response: “The mystery Moroccan orthopteran is an Armored Ground Cricket, which is actually a flightless katydid in the subfamily Hetrodinae. Apparently they are not uncommon in desert habitats.”

Letter 73 – Mystery: Unknown Orthopteran from South Africa is Koringkrieks

 

Yellow insect from South Africa?
June 1, 2010
Ok, so my friend sent me a picture of the mysterious bug that wouldn’t die! I’m sorry this is such a terrible picture… all of the pictures in this album were taken with a cell phone as that was their only camera at the time! My friends are told that they are harmless.
Stacy F.
South Africa (Bugeni)

Hi Stacy,
We believe this must be an Orthopteran, but we do not recognize it.  We wonder if perhaps it is a type of Weta.  We are going to contact Piotr Naskrecki to see if he recognizes it.

Piotr Naskrecki Identifies Koringkrieks
Hi Marcos,
This is Enyaliopsis transvaalensis (Tettigoniidae: Hetrodinae), member of a group of katydids known in South Africa as koringkrieks. Although unrelated to European Bradyporinae, they also exhibit reflexive bleeding as a defense mechanism. This species is common in NE South Africa (the old Transvaal.)
Piotr

?Hi Daniel,
Actually, I think I identfied this bug and it is a  Shieldback Katydid, also known as Koringkriek. Ask PiotrNaskrecki if he thinks I am correct.
The main thing is, are they harmless? We have a missionary family tha are pretty freaked out by these because they have a small child.
Sincerely,
Stacy Fisher

?Thanks for helping me out in this! You have an excellent site! I go there whenever I find some bizarre critters (and believe me, it’s often, ha ha)
Take care,
Stacy Fisher

Letter 74 – Oblong Winged Katydid

 

Can you identify this bug for us?
We found this on our crab apple tree- any idea what it is? My son is crazy with wonder about it! Oops… I forgot to give you our geographic location… We are in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, IL.
Thanks.
The Chenicek’s

Hi Cheniceks,
This is an Oblong Winged Katydid, Amblycorypha oblongifolia. It ranges over most of the east and is found in deciduous woods and gardens, on trees and bushes. Males sing with a series of lisping chirps.

Letter 75 – Oblong Winged Katydid: Orange (Tan) Morph

 

Orange Katydid
Hi
I came across your website when i was looking for info on what seemed to be a pretty unusual insect. The picture was taken in SW Virginia. How rare do you think this is?
Thanks
Gary

Hi Gary,
According to our Audubon Insect Guide: the Oblong Winged Katydid, Amblycorypha oblongifolia, is “Leaf-green or rarely pastel pink or tan.” I guess in some peoples’ opinion, tan might be viewed as orange. The color morph is still rare. We have received pink specimen photos, but never this color.

Letter 76 – Orthopteran from Minnesota

 

Subject: It’s huge!
Location: Minneapolis Minnesota
May 30, 2013 4:17 pm
I found this in Minneapolis Minnesota in the grass please tell me what it is I am struggling to find info.
Signature: Zach

Hi Zach,
We wish you had a photo of the back or dorsal surface of this impressive Orthopteran.  We believe it is some type of Katydid.  We will check with Piotr Naskrecki who specializes in Katydids.  We are postdating your image to go live June 10 since we will be out of the office and we like daily posts to occur on our site.

Letter 77 – Ovate Shieldback

 

Subject: haven’t got a clue on what this is
Location: Northern California
October 24, 2013 2:24 pm
Just trying to figure out what this insect is.
Signature: Jason Dalen

Dear Jason,
We believe we have identified your Katydid as an Ovate Shieldback, Aglaothorax ovata, and this is a new species for our site.  We identified it on BugGuide.  The long ovipositor indicates that this is a female.

Letter 78 – Ovipositing Katydid from Costa Rica

 

Subject:  Orthoptera Identification
Geographic location of the bug:  Manzanillo, Costa Rica
Date: 12/19/2018
Time: 11:33 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Could you please help me identify this orthoptera?
Thank you.
How you want your letter signed:  7Song

Dear 7Song,
This is a marvelous image of a female Katydid in the family Tettigoniidae and she appears to be in the act of laying eggs.  It looks similar to the Tico Katydid, Melanonotus tico, which is pictured on Getty Images.  We will attempt to contact Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki to get his opinion.

Katydid Correction Courtesy of Piotr Naskrecki
Hi Daniel,
It is a female of Idiarthron, based on the location (Limon Province) most likely I. hammuliferum.
Cheers,
Piotr

Ed. Note:  There are images of this species on the Orthoptera Species File Online.

Thank you for your reply Daniel. I have been looking for someone to help me with this photo for a while now. I look forward to your response.
~7Song
Whoops, I missed the second response, so thank you again. And a thank you to Piotr.

Letter 79 – Pair of Katydids from Madagascar: Aethiomerus adelphus

 

Subject: Madagascar Bush Cricket
Location: Madagascar
October 27, 2013 7:21 am
Hi Daniel
Thought you might be interested in this beautiful bush cricket that I encountered recently on a night walk at Andasibe-Mantadia National Park, Madagascar.
David.
Signature: David

Hi David,
Could you please direct us to the place where you identified your Bush Crickets, because we believe these to be Katydids in the family Tettigoniidae.  You also imply that there is only one individual in the photos, when in fact you have photographed a pair.  The female has the long ovipositor.  We will try to contact Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki to see if he is able to provide a species name for us.  We will be postdating your submission to go live in early November while we are away from the office.

Piotr Naskrecki Responds
Hi Daniel,
These are Aethiomerus, almost certainly A. adelphus (Conocephalinae: Agraeciini). Do you have the exact locality data for these photos? I would love to add them to my distribution database.
Cheers,
Piotr
Piotr Naskrecki, Ph. D.
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University

Hi Daniel
I always thought that the terms Bush Cricket and Katydid were interchangeable and Katydid was an American term and Bush cricket a more general term. Please correct me. I am probably completely wrong. 🙂
For Piotr the exact locality is Analamazoatra Reserve on the edge of Antasibe-Mantadia National forest in Madagascar. The exact Google GPS coordinates are -18.942214,48.416913. I will have more Madagascar Katydids for Piotr if he is interested.
Regards,
David.

Thanks David,
We have seen the term Bush Cricket, but it seems it is generally applied to flightless Katydids.  Thanks for the additional information.

Update:  October 30, 2013
This was originally planned to be a posting to go live during our absence, but since we need to link to it because of another submission, we are posting it earlier than originally planned.

 

Letter 80 – Pair of Saddlebacked Bush Crickets from Turkey

 

Subject: Cricket in Turkey
Location: Turkey , Olu Deniz, Aegean Area (coastal)
February 12, 2017 12:09 pm
Hi, I was hoping you could identify this bug.
These were taken in May 2010
Signature: Ian Smith

Dear Ian,
How marvelous that you were able to provide us with images of both a female (with the curved ovipositor at the tip of her abdomen) and a male Saddlebacked Bush Cricket in the genus Ephippiger, probably E. ephippiger.  According to Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki, they are from a very primitive lineage.

Wow thanks Daniel for that very prompt reply !
I assumed it was a cricket but I haven’t been able to find an image online which even comes close to looking like mine (colours).  I guess there must be lots of “flavours” ! J
Thanks again
Ian

Letter 81 – Orthopteran Nymph eats Spider on Woody Plant

 

Subject:  What’s on my Woody Plant?
Location:  Mount Washington, Los Angeles, California
Dear What’s That Bug?
I spotted a crazy bug eating a spider on my woody plant. I know this isn’t the best picture (attached), it was at dusk and I was using the light of a headlamp and an iPhone, but hopefully you can decipher what’s happening.
Stacked Up in Mt. Washington,
Max Yield

Dear Max Yield,
This is a Longhorned Orthopteran nymph from the suborder Ensifera, and having it living on your woody plant might not be the best long term plan.  You don’t want spiders getting eaten as they are predatory and beneficial, and the Orthopteran is likely an omnivore that will eventually eat leaves and possibly even buds.  We suspect this is some species of Katydid, and young nymphs like this can be difficult to correctly identify to the species level. In our own garden, we allow Katydids to eat rose blossoms, but you might not want anything to reduce your maximum yield.  We enjoy the sound of the Katydids at night in our garden, so we would not harm this very young, possibly second instar nymph, but we would not think twice about relocating it elsewhere in the garden as they are not especially particular about what plants they eat.  Since creating our What’s on my Woody Plant? tag, we have gotten some flack from our Facebook followers.  On August 8, Nancy Barlow wrote “Get some new material…. not funny any longer….”  Within an hour and a half, Amy Holder wrote:  “Yeah im over the woody plant coverage as well. There are other sites dude can post and show off all his weed. Gtfo.”  We didn’t know that “get the fuck out” had an acronym until we looked it up.  We can’t believe that people who follow us think that being funny is our prime objective or that we are interested in showing off weed.  We attempt to identify insects and things that crawl, and we occasionally devote tags to specific groups of plants with robust Arthropod populations, including the Milkweed Meadow and the Goldenrod Meadow.  Furthermore, we believe in the malleability of the English language, and using regional terms has a certain charm.  We would never disparage anyone who used the terms herb or mota.

Letter 82 – Phasmid from Mexico

 

Possible Leaf Insect in Huatalco, Mexico
March 30, 2010
During a Central American cruise at the end of March, we encountered this beauty. Our best guess would be some sort of leaf insect. It was about 4 inches long and after a gentle proding with a stick, it exposed mantis like wings and flew a short distance, only to attempt to camouflage itself again. Being from Illinois, we have encountered many walking sticks and mantisis but coming across this guy was a real treat! Any help would be great.
Rob & Chris F.
Huatulco, Mexico

Hi Rob and Chris,
We aren’t certain if this is a Phasmid or Walkingstick, or if it is a Katydid.  We will pester Piotr Naskrecki for the fourth time in two days for assistance.

Piotr Naskrecki writes right back
Hi Daniel,
This is Prisopus sp., a phasmid of the family Prisopodidae. There are 18
species in the genus, all rather similar.
Cheers,
Piotr

Letter 83 – Pink Katydid

 

pink katydid
We found this pink katydid (I think that’s what it is) on a hike along Skyline Drive in Virginia. It was stunning. I’ve found very little about it on the internet (except that it has been seen in Michigan). Is there anything unique about it other than it’s color?

Pink Katydids are common enough to be relatively well documented. We have about three or four previous images. Orange is an even more rare color varient.

Update: (07/03/2008) Katydid IDs from Piotr Naskrecki
Hi,
I have been looking at the page with unidentified katydids (Katydids 2), and thought I could help with some ID’s. From top to bottom they are: Amblycorypha sp.

Letter 84 – Pink Katydid in Costa Rica

 

PINK KATYDID?
Location: Costa Rica
March 21, 2012 11:37 pm
Dear Bugman,
I’m used to seeing katydids of various shapes and sizes here in Costa Rica, but they have all been some shade of green. I was taken aback when I saw this pink one on my balcony this morning. Is this a mutant? I put him on my flowers for a photo and noticed him eating the flowers which are also his color. Is this color a result of his diet? Just curious. Thanks.
Signature: Jori

Dear Jori,
Pink is not an uncommon color variation in a North American Katydid, Amblycorypha oblongifolia, which your specimen greatly resembles.  Here is a photo from BugGuide and we have numerous examples in our archive.

Letter 85 – Katydid from South Africa: Cymatomera denticollis

 

Subject: Trichoptera?
Location: sand Forest South Africa
February 20, 2013 5:58 pm
Hello Bugman! I’m finding such a hard time to ID this insect by myself and need a hand. I don’t think this is a neuropteran neither a megalopteran, the very long antennaes confused me and also the size off the bug, too big to be a caddisfly, but could it be a different kind off Trichoptera? apprecite your help!
thanks a lot,the pics are from South Africa
Signature: Barbara Garcia

HI Barbara,
In our opinion, this is a member of the order Orthoptera and the Suborder Ensifera, the Longhorned Orthopterans, which includes Katydids.  Your photo lacks clarity and we haven’t the time to search for a more specific identification at this time.

Hi Daniel and Barbara:
Right you are Daniel. It looks like a Bark Katydid in the genus Cymatomera. It looks very similar to C. denticollis, but according to the ‘Field Guide To Insects of South Africa’  (page 84 and photo 4 on page 85) there are six similar species in the genus. Piotr Naskrecki provides some interesting comments in his photo blog ‘The Smaller Majority’. Regards.  Karl

Thanks Karl,
We depend upon Piotr Naskrecki for many Katydid identifications and we didn’t realize he has a blog.

 

 

Letter 86 – Meadow Katydid

 

Grasshopper with white head and yellow legs
January 19, 2010
I found this grasshopper in a marsh on the boardwalk about 30 miles west of Chicago. He stayed there for about a minute and then jumped off into the weeds. Any ideas? He’s one of the most beautiful grasshoppers I’ve ever seen.
Sam
Wheaton, IL 60187

Hi Sam,
We are late for an appointment right now, and haven’t the time to research this request, though we do have time to post it.  Hopefully, one of our readers will be able to assist.  We have also requested assistance from Eric Eaton.  Your letter did not indicate when the sighting was made, and since there is currently snow in Chicago, we doubt if it was spotted this week.

Sorry; I think it was in July or August if that helps.

Correction courtesy of Eric Eaton
Daniel:
The “grasshopper” is a male meadow katydid in the genus Orchelimum, possibly the black-legged meadow katydid, Orchelimum nigripes, but difficult to be certain.  One needs to see a close-up of the tail end to get a species ID.
Eric

Letter 87 – Katydid from India: Parasanaa donovani

 

Subject:  What’s this bug?
Geographic location of the bug:  Hyderabad, Telangana, India
Date: 09/01/2017
Time: 07:23 AM EDT
Hi Mr Bug Man,
Please identify for us this bug. We found many of them laying on the sidewalk one day during the monsoon season.
How you want your letter signed:  Thanks, Susan

Dear Susan,
Your request has been on our back burner since we received it.  Alas, we have tried unsuccessfully several times to identify this Orthopteran, but it does look familiar to us.  It is quite distinctive looking with its gaudy camouflage markings.  Perhaps one of our readers will have better luck than we have had.

Update:  September 5, 2017
Thanks to Cesar Crash of Insetologia who identified this Katydid as Parasanaa donovani, a species we had in our archives.

Letter 88 – Katydid from New Caledonia

 

new caledonian bug…
March 29, 2010
this was found when a crested gecko dropped it when starteled and absolutally stinks
print
new caledonia

Dear print,
We will contact and expert in Orthopterans, Piotr Naskrecki, to see if he can identify this Katydid.

Piotr Naskrecki responds
Hi Daniel,
The squashed New Caledonian katydid is Pseudophyllanax imperialis, a huge
insect, endemic to the islands. I am impressed that a gecko was able to kill
her (although they do have large geckos on NC.)
Piotr

Ed. Note
Armed with a name, we located the Insect Net Forum that calls this a Coconut Grasshopper, and the Endemia NC website has some photos and a recording of the sound made by the male calling to the female.

Letter 89 – Katydid from Panama is Mimetica crenulata

 

I have been searching for it´s name
Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 2:38 PM
Greetings from Panama!
Dr Alan Jaslow took this picture in the 70s in our Farm in Panama and I need to put a tag with the name on but I am not certain about the name. I got mimet iga ingisa but the ink is fading and is not readible.
Thanks for you help!!!!
Aliss Hartmann
Santa Clara Chiriqui Panama

Hi Arliss,
All we can say for sure is that it is a Katydid. The archival photo that you are trying to classify is quite beautiful. We have recently gotten some help with Katydid identification from Piotr Naskrecki and we will contact him to see if he is able to assist.

Hi Daniel,
I looked at the picture and the accompanying text. The faded label Aliss
mentions spelled “Mimetica incisa.” I believe, however, that the picture
shows a different species, Mimetica crenulata.
Cheers,
Piotr

Letter 90 – Katydid from Panama

 

Subject:  Katydid from Panama
Geographic location of the bug:  Anton Valley, Panama, 600m absl
Date: 09/23/2018
Time: 08:30 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hi, I never found what could be this katydid (even the genus is unknown to me), so any help would be much appreciated ! Thanks in advance 🙂 Frank
How you want your letter signed:  Frank Canon

Dear Frank,
Your images are gorgeous and this Katydid is quite unusual.  The undeveloped wings lead us to believe it is immature, and the apparent lack of an ovipositor indicates it is a male.  We haven’t the time this morning to conduct a thorough identification search, so we are posting your images as unidentified and we will return to this posting this evening.  Meanwhile, perhaps our readership has a moment or two for research.

Letter 91 – Katydid from Peru

 

Peruvian cricket
Location: Rio Pindayo, near Curimana, Ucayali, Peru
February 9, 2011 3:28 am
Can you help me find the identity of this cricket found in central Peru?
Signature: Peter Bruce-Jones

Hi again Peter,
This is not a cricket, but rather, it is a Katydid in the family Tettigoniidae.  Crickets and Katydids are classified together in the suborder Ensifera, the Long Horned Orthopterans.  We often request assistance with exotic Katydid identifications from entomologist Piotr Naskrecki, however, we suspect he is in the field as he did not respond to our recent emails.  We will write to him to see if he recognizes your Katydid.  We can tell you that she is a female as evidenced by her swordlike ovipositor.

Hi Daniel,
Thank you.
On this side of the Atlantic the Tettigoniidae are known as Bush-crickets and the term “katydid” is alien to us, hence my (imprecise) use of “cricket”. I look forward to hearing what your expert makes of it, and will hold back my other similar queries until he is in contact again.
Best regards,
Peter

Piotr Naskrecki Responds
Hi Daniel,
This is a female of Choeroparnops, most likely C. tuberculatus (Tettigoniidae: Pseudophyllinae: Platyphyllini).
Cheers,
Piotr

Thank you Daniel. That was quicker than I expected. I have a few more orthopterans to enquire about; I’ll start with the long-horned ones.
All the best,
Peter

Letter 92 – Katydid from Sri Lanka

 

Alien like Bug
December 31, 2009
I do not know what this is. It is not something I have seen before. It surely resembles to one of those alien creatures in sci–fi films than an earthling.
Appreciate some help to identify this fellow.
Refer below for more info.
http://kirigalpoththa.blogspot.com/2009/11/aliens-in-garden.html
http://picasaweb.google.com/Kirigalpoththa/AliensInTheGarden#
N/A
Colombo, Sri Lanka

Dear N/A,
Other than believing this to be a Longhorned Orthopteran or Katydid, we cannot provide a species or genus.  We are going to contact Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki who has assisted us in the past in the hopes he can provide more information.

Response from Piotr Naskrecki
Hi Daniel,
The insect in the photo is a nymph of Cymatomerini (Pseudophyllinae). The
only genus of this tribe known from Sri Lanka is Sathrophyllia, which of
course does not mean that it cannot be something else (the orthopteran fauna
of Sri Lanka is virtually unknown.)
Cheers,
Piotr

Letter 93 – Katydid Hunter

 

Subject: Bodacious, Beautiful Wasp
Location: Brevard County (Titusville), FL
September 17, 2014 7:01 pm
Hello Big Folks,
We found this big, bodacious, beautiful wasp today (Sept. 17, 2014) while doing landscape work for a client. It’s big, nearly 2″ long and was very docile and tolerant as I hovered around it, mere inches away, taking photos and videos as it walked around on an Indian hawthorn shrub.
Can you tell me what it is? And everything there is to know about it? (<–ok, I realize that may be an unreasonable request, but this guy is awesome!)
Thanks so much, and also, thanks for this wonderful site. There is so much fascinating stuff here!
Signature: LG

Dear LG,
We had thought this would be an easy identification, but we are not having any luck, so we decided to enlist the assistance of Eric Eaton.  Initially we thought that this might be a Thread-Waisted Wasp in the family Sphecidae, but we struck out, though Eremnophila aureonotata on BugGuide does have similar markings on the face.  In the interest of trying to post additional submissions this morning, we are going live with your request, waiting for Eric Eaton to get back to us, and hopefully provide you with an identification soon.  Perhaps some of our readers will have ideas.

Eric Eaton confirms family and gets more specific.
Daniel:
You are correct, this is a katydid hunter wasp, Sphex habenus.  It is not one of the more commonly-photographed species.
Species Sphex habenus – BugGuide.Net
Eric

Reader Emails

Over the years, our website, whatsthatbug.com has received hundreds of letters and some interesting images asking us about these insects. Scroll down to have a look at some of them.

Letter 1 – Paralyzed Drumming Katydids found in Nest of a Grass Carrier Wasp

 

Subject: paralized grasshoppers in nest above my door?! Could they be victims or wasps?
Location: Andover, MA
July 2, 2012 7:53 pm
I opened my screen door and out drops dozens of small green grasshoppers (not sure what kind) onto my head!…
They are alive but not able to move very much. My guess is they were parasitized by a wasp. If this it true, I’m assuming wasp eggs were laid in these pretty little things.
I would love to know for sure!
Thanks BugMan!
Roberta
Signature: covered in grasshoppers

Hi Roberta,
We will be writing to both Piotr Naskrecki and Eric Eaton to try to get to the bottom of this food chain mystery.  These are not Grasshoppers because their antennae are too long.  They are some immature Longhorned Orthopteran in the suborder Ensifera.  The specimen in hand appears to be a juvenile female because of the presence of an Ovipositor.  Perhaps Piotr who specializes in Katydids can provide species or genus information.  Thank you for including the nesting material.  It is most unusual and we do not know of a Parasitic Wasp that uses straw to build a nest, but perhaps Piotr or Eric will know more on that subject.

Piotr Naskrecki identifies Katydids
Hi Daniel,
Cannot tell you much about who paralyzed these katydids (my guess would be a sphecid wasp of some kind), but the insects themselves are nymphs of Meconema thalassinum, a European species, introduced and now common in the Eastern US.
Cheers,
Piotr

Ed. Note:  BugGuide identifies Meconema thalassinumas the Drumming Katydid.

Eric Eaton provides a likely Predator:  Grass Carrier Wasp
Hi Daniel, Piotr:
Very interesting!  The wasps building the straw nests would be “grass-carriers” in the genus Isodontia, family Sphecidae.  I think the host here would be a new record since the wasps are native but the prey is not.  There are at least three or four Isodontia spp. in Massachusetts, so without at least an image of the wasp we can’t make an association.
Eric

Update from Roberta:  Larvae Emerge
Hi Daniel,
Thanks for the response. Larvae have started emerging from the katydids.  I have attached a couple of photos.  I did the best I could without a macro lens.
I have wasps buzzing around my house with little pieces of straw in-hand.   So a wasp came to mind as the culprit when the katydids dropped on my head.
They are still on my deck;  I would like to put them out of their misery if that’s okay?
Thanks again!
Roberta

Ed. Note:  We missed Roberta’s first update and we added them to the original posting out of order.
Hi Roberta,
We somehow missed your first update.  While we understand the sympathy you feel for the Katydids, we can’t help but to marvel at the cache of Drumming Katydids that the Grass Carrying Wasp assembled and we hate to see that effort go to waste.  We wish you could provide a suitable substitute habitat and let nature take its course.

Update from Roberta:  Photo of the predator
Hi Daniel,
I attached a photo of the wasp .  I believe this is the species of wasp that is parasitizing the Drumming katydids.   There were a number of these wasps flying around carrying pieces of grass.  This one, however, isn’t.
I hope this helps.
Thanks!
Roberta

Hi Roberta,
We feel we are making a conviction based on circumstantial evidence, but we are nonetheless pleased to arrive at the same conclusion that you have:  that this Grass Carrier Wasp or one of its relatives built the grass nest that was provisioned with immature Drumming Katydids.  Thank you so much for the follow-up.  This is exactly the type of interactive posting we love, complete with expert testimony.  Additionally, through a continued effort on your part, you photographed the interconnectivity between these two species, the predator and the prey.  It should be noted that like other wasps that prey upon insects, it is done for the purpose of feeding a brood.  The adults feed on nectar, most likely because during the evolutionary process, parents that did not compete with their young for the same food supply produced more offspring since food did not have to be shared.

Hi Daniel,
The scientist in me decided to let nature take its course; I placed the katydids in a covered area of my yard.
I kept one of the katydids to follow the development of the Grass Carrying Wasp.
I will let you know if I am successful in raising the wasp to adulthood.
Thanks so much for your wonderful site.
Roberta

 

Letter 2 – Koringkriek from South Africa

 

Big Bug in Kruger
Location: Letaba Rest Camp, Kruger National Park, South Africa
July 28, 2011 4:09 pm
Hi there Bugman,
What’s this bug? One of the most fascinating creatures I’ve ever captured on film. We met on mondaymorning May 29 back in 2006 in Kruger National Park. Would like to know his name.
Thanks in advance!
Tom from The Netherlands

Hi Tom,
This is a Longhorned Orthopteran, Eugaster longipes, and it is called a Koringkriek.  We posted a photo back in 2009 when we did all the original research.  The Wilkinson’s World Blog calls it an Armored Ground Cricket.  The Encyclopedia of Life website classifies it as a Katydid in the family Tettigoni1dae, and we would surmise that it is also a Shield Backed Katydid in the subfamily Tettigoniinae.

Letter 3 – Moss Mimic Katydid from Costa Rica

 

Subject: Big grasshopper!!
Location: Monteverde, Costa Rica
February 5, 2016 11:24 pm
Hello Mr. Bugman!
I am so happy to have found your website. I am often curious as to what kind of bug I’ve found and now there is a resource! I have here a picture I took at Cala Lodge in Monteverde, Costa Rica last month. This huge grasshopper looked like he would camouflage very well in a tree. Helooked like he had a piece of leaf sticking out of his neck. Can you tell me what kind of grasshopper this is?
Thanking you in advance for your time,
Signature: Lise

Dear Lise,
This is NOT a Grasshopper.  It is a Katydid.  We believe it is a Moss Mimic Katydid, Haemodiasma tessellata, a highland species that is already pictured on our site, or a closely related species in the same genus.  We noticed you have three additional identification requests, all titled as Katydids.  We did not look at the images yet.  If they are in fact all Katydids, we will attempt to get Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki to verify our identifications when they are all posted.

Piotr Naskrecki Responds
Hi Daniel,
Yes, the big, mossy katydid is Haemodiasma tessellata.
Cheers,
Piotr

That’s excellent!  Thank you for taking the time to look into this photo.  A moss mimic katydid.  How cool is that!?  🙂  I can’t wait to go back to Costa Rica.  I plan to pay way more attention to the insects there next time.  So different from what we have here in northern Canada.
Thanks again,
Lise

Letter 4 – Mimicking Snout-Nosed Katydid from Australia

 

Australian Grasshopper
April 10, 2010
Hi Bugman, would this be a grasshopper? Besides the eyes, I was also curious about the reddish/orange thing it had on its neck, but looking at grasshopper photos I guess it’s its mouth, not a tick or something gorging on it…
Best,
Ridou
Ridou Ridou
Sydney Australia

Hi Ridou,
Nice to hear from you again.  This is not a grasshopper, but rather, a member of the same order, but classified as the suborder Ensifera of Long-Horned Orthoperta, and the family Tettigoniidae of Katydids, and the subfamily Conocephalinae of Coneheads.

We were unable to find a match on the Brisbane Insect website, and time if precious right now, so we are requesting assistance from an expert in the family, Piotr Naskrecki.  Stay tuned for an update.

Hi Daniel,
This is a female of Pseudorhynchus, possibly P. lessonii, but impossible to
say based on the photo.
Cheers,
Piotr

With that information, we discovered on the Australian Museum website that this genus is known as the Mimicking Snout-Nosed Katydids and that: “It has strong mandibles for cracking grass seeds and, if carelessly handled, can give a nasty bite.”

Letter 5 – Katydid from Mexico

 

This bug looks like a green leaf
Fri, Nov 28, 2008 at 7:12 AM
My dogs found this green “leaf” bug on my front walk this morning. I live at Lake Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico. The bug was moving very slowly. I don’t know if it was injured when one dog pawed in a little but all legs seem to be intact. It opened its “leaf” wings slightly once. What is it and what is its purpose?
Susy
Lake Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico

Hi Susy,
This is some species of Katydid in the family Tettigoniidae, but we cannot provide you with a species name. Most, but not all Katydids are plant feeders. You question this Katydid’s purpose and that is a loaded question. Each creature occupies a specific niche in the balance of nature, and to remove any individual species may ultimately tip the scale, upsetting the equilibrium of the entire planet. Some may question that the balance has already been upset.

Update:
Daniel:
Here is what he had to say about the other two katydid posts….
Eric

Sunday, November 30, 2008, 5:25 PM
Hi Eric,
1. I noticed two new posts about katydids at WhatsThatBug.com … the second is a species of Stilpnochlora(Phaneropterinae) from Mexico (possibly S. azteca, but it is hard to be
certain as females in this genus are very similar to each other.) …
Cheers,
Piotr Naskrecki

Letter 6 – Mexican Bush Katydid

 

Subject:  Santa Barbara Bug
Geographic location of the bug:  Santa Barbara CA
Date: 09/01/2018
Time: 11:19 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  This guy crawled into our house today.  Can’t figure out what it is! Any thought what it might be? Thank you!
How you want your letter signed:  Alison

Dear Alison,
This is a male Bush Katydid in the genus Scudderia, and we believe it is the Mexican Bush Katydid, Scudderia mexicana because BugGuide states: “The only Scudderia species found in Los Angeles” with the further elaboration that it “Displaces S. furcata in its southwestern range, and overlaps range in California north from about Monterey County.”  Here is a BugGuide image for comparison.  Like other Katydids, the males are able to make sounds to attract a mate and they are among the chorus of insects that fill the warm summer evenings with sounds.

Letter 7 – Lichen Katydid from Colombia

 

Subject:  Rare in my garden
Geographic location of the bug:  Abejorral, Colombia
Date: 06/11/2018
Time: 12:15 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hi, this handsome guy come to visit on November to February to my house. What is that?
How you want your letter signed:  Claudia

Dear Claudia,
The beautiful lacy pattern on this Lichen Katydid, Markia hystrix, allows it to be perfectly camouflaged on mosses and lichens that are often found growing in its habitat.  You can view additional images on Project Noah.

Letter 8 – Mystery Moroccan Orthopteran is Armored Ground Cricket

 

Giant beetle in Anti Atlas mountains Morocco
When looking for information about a giant beetle we saw in the Anti Atlas mountains in Morocco i came across your website. You have any information about this giant bug? Regards,
Joost de Wall

Hi Joost,
This looks to us like some type of Orthopteran, the crickets and katydids. We will see if Eric Eaton can assist us. Here is Eric’s speedy response: “The mystery Moroccan orthopteran is an Armored Ground Cricket, which is actually a flightless katydid in the subfamily Hetrodinae. Apparently they are not uncommon in desert habitats.”

Update: (07/03/2008) Katydid IDs from Piotr Naskrecki
Hi,
I have been looking at the page with unidentified katydids (Katydids 2), and thought I could help with some ID’s. From top to bottom they are: Moroccan katydid – Eugaster (possibly nigripes)

Letter 9 – Pink Katydid Nymph

 

pink insect
Hi,
Can you identify this insect? I found it in Plaquemines parish in southeastern Louisiana. The color amazed me, I promise I didn’t adjust the color on the photo!
Ann

Hi Ann,
This is a Katydid Nymph. We cannot tell you the exact species, but perhaps one of our readers can. There are several species of Katydids that are normally green to blend in with foliage that they eat. Occasionally there are pink sports like yours. Perhaps this is so they would blend in while eating pink flowers.

Update: 907/03/2008) Katydid IDs from Piotr Naskrecki
Hi,
I have been looking at the page with unidentified katydids (Katydids 2), and thought I could help with some ID’s. From top to bottom they are: Amblycorypha sp. (pink nymph)

Letter 10 – Moss Mimic Katydid from Costa Rica

 

Katydid Costa Rica
Sun, Dec 21, 2008 at 9:50 PM
Hi, again! I love this site! Here are two pictures of what looks to me like a katydid. It resembles the Panama Sylvan katydid – Acanthodis curvidens that is shown on this site, but the coloration is quite different. I assume mine is a female. It was sitting on the side of a concrete block used to surround some gardening stuff. It sat very still for the photos and is about 3-4 inches long. Perhaps the genius at Harvard who identified the other katydids can have a go at this one?
Mary Thorman (Pura Vida Photos)
south western Costa Rican highlands

Hi Mary,
We have contacted Piotr Naskrecki and we hope he will be able to provide you with a species identification of this awesome looking Katydid from Costa Rica.

Hi Daniel,
This is Haemodiasma tessellata, a gorgeous moss mimic, often found in mid-
to high elevation forests. They sometimes fly to light at night, which may
explain finding it around the house. I would be curious to know where and
when the pictures were taken.
Cheers,
Piotr

Update: December 26, 2008
Hi, Daniel!
Please tell Piotr that a found the moss mimic katydid two weeks ago.  I live in a rural/wooded area of Costa Rica at about 1200 meters.  It is on the Pacific slopes of the Talamanca Mountain range in southern Costa Rica.  I have two hectares of secondary highland forest (with a corridor of primary forest near a stream on the property).  I also raise organic fruits, vegetables, and medicinal plants.  I found the katydid just sitting on a concrete block near my house one morning as I was putting bananas and other fruits on a bamboo feeding platform near my bedroom window.
What does tesselata mean?  I also raise a type of live bearing cockroach called Archimandrita tesselata.  Wish I’d known bugs were so fascinating when I was young enough to study entomology more thoroughly than I did for basic biology classes.  I wound up becoming a professional field gerontologist instead.  But I was an insect collector for the Smithsonian when I lived in Florida where I also raised various insects just to watch them, do some non traumatic experiments, and learn about them.  I even wrote some tongue-in-cheek articles about the joys of raising various insects for several newspapers.
Now that I’m retired I enjoy combining my interest in living things with my hobby of photography.  There is always something new.
If you know of anyone who would like a place to stay near the Wilson Botanical Gardens and Organization for Tropical Studies research center near me while they do field studies, please tell them I have a very nice guest room available.  It would be fun to have a guest who is interested in biology.
Sincerely,
Mary (Chiki) Thorman
Linda Vista de San Vito
Puntarenas
Costa Rica

Letter 11 – Mountain Katydid from Australia

 

Black Katydid Bogong High Plains
November 5, 2009
What type of bug is this? We saw it on the 20th of January 2008. Near Falls Creek ski resort in the Victorian Alps. Bogong High Plains, Victoria Australia.
Matt Gawler
-36° 53′ 32.36″, +147° 17′ 26.20″

Hi Matt,
We had no luck identifying your black Katydid on the Brisbane Insects website. Perhaps one of our readers will have better luck searching the internet than we have had.

Hi Daniel:
I haven’t checked out all the possibilities but this looks very much like a male Mountain Katydid (Acripeza reticulata). Females of the species are flightless. Check out this link to “Dave’s Garden” for more photos and lots of information. Regards.
Karl

Letter 12 – Katydid from Mongolia

 

Subject: Mongolian insect
Location: Mongolia
February 22, 2014 11:06 am
I was in Mongolia and saw this giant cricket/grasshopper like creature. The biggest one I saw measured about 4 inches in length. They had no visible wings and only crawled along the ground much like a potato bug.
Signature: Erin

Dear Erin,
This Orthopteran is a Shieldback Katydid.  We will try to contact Piotr Naskrecki to see if he is able to provide a genus or species name.

Piotr Naskrecki provides an identification
Hi Daniel,
A very interesting creature – this katydid is Deracantha, probably D. mongolica (Tettigoniidae: Bradyporinae: Zichyini). This group of insects has an interesting mix of very advanced and basal (“primitive”) morphological characters that may help explain the origin of sound production in katydids. Some species in this tribe have highly modified tarsi (feet) that are equipped with crampons-like spikes that help them walk on smooth rocks.
Cheers,
Piotr
Piotr Naskrecki, Ph. D.
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University

Thanks so much Piotr,
So, it is a Katydid, but not a Shieldback, and it is in a subfamily that is not represented in North America, correct?

Letter 13 – Musical Black Legged Meadow Katydid, we believe

 

Subject: Identification Required
Location: St Louis, Missouri
April 22, 2014 2:35 am
Hi
This was taken in Sept 2013 – there was alot of them about and they were very noisey
Signature: Helen

Dear Helen,
We are nearly certain your Katydid is a Black Legged Meadow Katydid, Orchelimum nigripes, based on this image posted to BugGuide.  Your individual is a male and it is the males of the species that produce the sounds.  There is additional information on BugGuide. 

Letter 14 – Palmetto Conehead

 

Subject: cricket or grasshopper
Location: SouthWest FL
August 23, 2013 7:43 pm
I have this bug in south FL we call the shrimp bug. It has jumper legs like a cricket or a grasshopper but looks like a shrimp. I ask many pest control company’s what it is, and nobody can give me a good answer. Here are a couple of pics. Can you identify this critter? Thanks
Signature: Larry A.

Dear Larry,
This is neither a cricket nor a grasshopper, but it is classified in the same insect order, Orthoptera, as both crickets and grasshoppers.  This is a Conehead, a species of Katydid in the genus Belocephalus.  According to BugGuide:  “Usually associated with small palms, including saw and cabbage palmettos” and “Has been observed eating palm fronds.”

Letter 15 – Nonnative Female Shieldback Katydid

 

Subject: Bug id
Location: Norther Maine
July 27, 2014 11:00 am
Just wondering what this one is. I haven’t seen it before. Looks like a cross between a cricket and a grasshopper.
Signature: Nathan

Dear Nathan,
This is an Eastern Shieldback Katydid in the genus Atlanticus, but we are not certain of the species.  Piotr Naskrecki, a Katydid expert, often assists us with species identifications when we are stumped, but he is currently collecting in Mozambique.  We will attempt to contact him, but we may not hear back for some time.  Meanwhile, you can compare your individual, which is a female based on her curved ovipositor, to the images posted to BugGuide.  According to BugGuide, they are “Omnivorous, eat other insects (living and dead), fruits, leaves, flowers of a variety of vegetation” and “Said to be strong biters.”

Correction Courtesy of Piotr Naskrecki
Hi Daniel,
Not an Atlanticus but an invasive species from Europe, Metrioptera roeselii (still very pretty, though.) It is common across the NE US.
Cheers,
Piotr

Thanks Piotr.  According to BugGuide:  “An introduced species from Europe first found in Montreal in 1953 (1).  Both long and short-winged forms exist. The long-winged forms can fly some distance and are more commonly collected here than in Europe.”

Letter 16 – Katydid from India

 

Subject:  Katydid in glorious pink?
Geographic location of the bug:  Goa, India
Date: 01/11/2018
Time: 06:45 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Found this sitting on a gate in the foothills of the Western Ghats. 50mm long with 50mm antennae. Any idea?
How you want your letter signed:  Colin P

Dear Colin,
We are posting your image of a Katydid, and we are contacting Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki to see if he can assist in the identification of what we believe to be an immature individual. 

Letter 17 – Katydid from Indonesia

 

Subject: Katydid Identfication
Location: Batam, Indonesia
March 31, 2016 3:16 am
We found this female katydid last night and are trying to identify her…the underside of her legs are a pretty aqua blue and the ends of her wings are blunt instead of pointed like so many of the pictures we have been looking at.
Signature: Laura

Dear Laura,
We will contact Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki to see if he can provide an identification for your Katydid.

Letter 18 – Katydid from Indonesia

 

Subject: What’s this insect??
Location: Indonesia
April 5, 2016 2:38 am
Hi Bugman,
We came home today to find this insect stuck to our door. We have lived here for the past 8 years and have never seen this.
I’ve lived in tropical Indonesia for the past 36 years and have never seen it…
To me it looks like a moth which looks like a piece of bark… Help…
Signature: Preeti, who has a son (8) who NEEDS to know,

Dear Preeti,
We believe this is a Katydid in the family Tettigoniidae, and either its hind, jumping legs are missing, or they are hidden under the wings.  We will attempt to contact Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki to see if he can verify our identification and possibly provide a species name.  Your individual resembles this image on Media Storehouse.

Hi Daniel,
Thanks for the responding so quickly.
It’s 3rd set of legs are hidden under his wings… I just couldn’t take a picture of them.
A Katydid…thanks for letting me know what it is so that I can investigate it on the net and tell my son.
Thanks again.
Regards,
Preeti

Letter 19 – Katydid from Israel

 

Isophya from Israel
Hi WTB,
Fantastic site you have here! I check in on it every day, and I’d like to contribute something from this part of the globe. Here is an Isophya nymph from Israel, north of Jerusalem. The picture was taken in March 2007. Its hebrew name translates to something like ‘Little chubby fairy’. It is a bit cherubic, isn’t it? Best Regards,
Ben Schatz
Israel

Hi Ben,
Thanks for your kind compliment and also for your photo contribution to our Katydid section.

Update: (07/03/2008) Katydid IDs from Piotr Naskrecki
Hi,
I have been looking at the page with unidentified katydids (Katydids 2), and thought I could help with some ID’s. From top to bottom they are: Israel Isophya (possibly Isophya, but this individual is an immature)

Letter 20 – Katydid from Japan

 

Subject: Katydid?
Location: Japan
October 13, 2016 4:46 am
Found this bug on a bush in a field of tall grass in Osaka, Japan on Ocober 2. It was about 3-4 cm long. As soon as I snapped the picture, it jumped off into grass & hid.
Can you tell me what it is?
Signature: Karen

Dear Karen,
We believe we have correctly identified your Katydid as a male Gampsocleis buergeri on the Natural Japan site where it states:  “These huge katydids (bush-crickets) are everywhere at the moment. They sit perfectly camouflaged on leaves and then half jump, half crawl into the foliage making so much disturbance that it’s like a much larger animal is lurking there. Once you get used to spotting them before they disappear, it’s possible to sneak up and take photos.”  According to National Geographic Creative which has an image of a female of the species with her long ovipositor, this Katydid is called “Kirigirisu” in Japan.

Letter 21 – Katydid from Malaysia

 

Location: East coast peninsular Malaysia
January 18, 2013 10:00 am
Hello! Found these two beauties outside my hotel room in peninsular Malaysia. A big bulky butterfly and some sort of katydid that wasn’t very pleased with my presence.
Help me identify them please! Love the website by the way.
Signature: spl0uf

Hi spl0uf,
In trying to research this Katydid, we found a posting in our archives from Borneo that looks very much like your insect.  When we received that image, we requested assistance from Eric Eaton who forwarded our information to Katydid expert Piotr Nasrecki from Harvard who wrote back:  “This pretty animal is either the genus Olcinia or Sathrophyllia, both common katydids in Borneo and peninsular Malaysia (hard to tell them apart without seeing the wing venation.) They are members of the Pseudophyllinae:  Cymatomerini.”  We now contact Piotr regularly when we have a Katydid inquiry.  We are now awaiting his response.

Letter 22 – Katydid from Malaysia

 

Subject: Katydid Identification
Location: Tapah Hills, Perak, Malaysia
May 14, 2013 10:55 am
Hi Bugman,
here is a picture of a katydid found in Malaysia, last April 2013. It secrets an irritating fluid that you can see on the picture. Unable to find a match on internet, can you help me ?
Signature: Bernard

Hi Bernard,
We did locate a matching image on Flickr, but it was not identified either.  We contacted Piotr Naskrecki from Harvard to see if he is able to assist with a species or genus identification.  Your comment about the irritating fluid is interesting.

Letter 23 – Katydid from Peru

 

Another unknown katydid from Peru
Location: Shima, near Satipo, Junin, Peru
February 10, 2011 3:38 am
I would be grateful for any help with the identity of this orthopteran found in central Peru.
Signature: Peter Bruce-Jones

Hello again Peter,
We only have time to post one of your newly submitted Katydid images this morning and we do not have time to contact Piotr Naskrecki.  We will wait until later in the week to trouble him again.

Hi Daniel,
No problem. I am happy to proceed with these at whatever pace is most convenient.
Peter

Letter 24 – Katydid from Peru

 

Katydid of Peru
Location: Peru, South America
September 16, 2011 8:06 am
Hi Bugman,
My brother took this image in Manu National Park, Peru. I believe it is an Orophus sp. But would like an expert opinion
Signature: Sebastian Bawn

Hi Sebastian,
We will contact Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki to see if he can confirm the identification of this dried leaf mimic Katydid.  We located this other photo of a leaf mimic Katydid from Peru, but it does not appear to be the same as your individual and it is not identified.  We do not believe your individual resembles the Orophus species on this wonderful Conservation Report web page on leaf mimicking creatures.

Letter 25 – Katydid from Suriname

 

Subject: I am not sure what this is?
Location: Raleighvallen/ Voltzberg are located in the Central of the Suriname Nature Reserve. Suriname, South America
October 14, 2016 12:33 pm
Found it in July 2015 sitting on wood near the river.
Signature: Magdalena Bartsch

Dear Magdalena,
Thanks to Getty Images, we are pretty certain your male Katydid is in the genus Paraphidnia.  Based on an image posted to Research Gate, it might be Paraphidnia rubricorpus.

Letter 26 – Katydid from the West Indies

 

Grasshopper or Locust
Location: Saint Lucia, West Indies
May 6, 2012 7:15 pm
Dear Bugman,
I can’t figure out if this is a cricket, locust, or a grasshopper. It is about 3 in. long. It also makes a lot of chirping noises at sunset. Please help and thank you for your time!
Signature: Clueless in Castries

Dear Clueless in Castries,
You are not that clueless.  True locusts are grasshoppers and Grasshoppers belong to the order Orthoptera.  This Katydid is also in the order Orthoptera.  It is distinguished from a grasshopper by its much longer antennae, though it appears to be standing on its antennae rather and having them extended forward.

Letter 27 – Katydid IDs

 

Ed. Note: (07/07/2008) We have just spent about two hours updating the Katydid 2 page based on corrections and identifications sent to us from Piotr Naskrecki, Director of the Invertebrate Diversity Initiative of Conservation International and Research Associate with the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University.

Katydid ID’s
Hi,
I have been looking at the page with unidentified katydids (Katydids 2), and
thought I could help with some ID’s. From top to bottom they are: [there was a very long list here] Incidentally, it would make it a much easier job for people who know what these things are if each entry had an e-mail link “Identify this insect”. Alternatively, each entry should have a unique code (e.g., Katydid_002, Grasshopper_125 etc.) to make it easier for people to refer to a particular image. Otherwise a great site, keep up the good job. Cheers,
Piotr

Letter 28 – Katydid in French Guyana

 

Please can you identify this creature
Mon, Jan 26, 2009 at 12:56 PM
Hi, please could you help us identify this creature which my brother snapped in his little corner of the jungle near Cayenne, French Guyana – it is obviously hanging on a tree in the photo, is well camouflaged and looks pretty scary – he has never seen anything like it before, despite living there for about 5 years. Is it poisonous or dangerous (should he be worried??!)
Frankie
French Guyana

Hi Frankie,
This is a harmless female Katydid.  What appears to be a dangerous stinger is really an ovipositor.  We thought this might be a Moss Mimic Katydid like one from Costa Rica that  Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki identified for us in the past.  When we wrote to Piotr, here was his response:  “Hi Daniel,  Very hard to say from these photos. It looks more like Acanthodis than Haemodiasma (which does not occur in Fr. Guiana.)  Piotr”

Letter 29 – Katydid from Madagascar

 

Subject: Another Madagascar Katydid
Location: Madagascar
October 30, 2013 7:07 am
Hi again Daniel
As promised I’m attaching another interesting Katydid from Madagascar. Location is the same as the previous specimen. Enjoy.
Regards,
David.
Signature: David

Hi again David,
Thanks for sending us another Katydid from Madagascar.  This individual is a female.  We will again contact Piotr Naskrecki to see if he can provide a species identification.  We hope to have all updates done today as we will be away from the office for a week beginning tomorrow.  Since we postdated your previous submission, we are going to change the date so it will go live now and the link will be active.

Piotr Naskrecki Responds
Hi Daniel,
This is either Odontolakis or Centrocephalus (Concephalinae: Agraeciini), but likely an undescribed species. I have collected a very similar looking species in Ranomafana.
Cheers,
Piotr

November 7, 2013
Hi Daniel
I have another few Katydids from Madagascar that I’d like to send through to you but I realise you’re just back from your break and I don’t want to overwhelm you while you clear your backlog. Would it be ok if I sent through another ID request to yourself and Piotr this week? If not I will wait another week before sending anything through. I was very excited to see Piotr’s comment that my last submission was an undescribed species.
Hope you had a good rest,
Best regards,
David.

Hi David,
Please wait for the weekend.  Our backlog is significant, but gainful employment demands are far greater.

Letter 30 – Katydid from Madagascar

 

Subject: Another Madagascar Katydid
Location: Madagascar
November 9, 2013 9:17 am
Hi Daniel
Here’s another Madagascar Katydid as mentioned. The color is very interesting. Any help with an ID would be really great.
Thanks,
Signature: David

Hi again David,
We are posting your photo of a female Katydid from Madagascar and we hope Piotr Naskrecki will be able to assist in a more specific identification.

Letter 31 – Katydid from Malaysia

 

Subject: Grasshopper
Location: Malaysia
March 4, 2015 10:37 am
hello 🙂 im doing my insect collection project for my entomology class. however, i have difficulty in identifying the bugs that i have collected. whatsthatbug.com is the only hope i have now as i have searched google for this creature but failed to find it. i found this friend in my bedroom. hope anyone can help me identify this species.
Signature: anyhow

Dear anyhow,
This is a Longhorned Orthopteran in the suborder Ensifera, most likely some species of Katydid.

Letter 32 – Katydid Molting in Costa Rica

 

Subject: Katydid
Location: Cloud Forest, central Costa Rica
March 8, 2016 3:15 am
This photo was taken, during the night, in September, in cloud forest of Central Costa Rica, at a height of 4500′. I think the katydid is shedding its skin. Please can you identify it?
Signature: calculus

Dear calculus,
We haven’t the necessary skills to identify your Katydid based on your lovely image of a molting individual.  Perhaps one of our readers will have better luck.

Thanks for trying.  Could you even suggest a family name?
Thanks
calculus

All Katydids are in the family Tettigoniidae.

Letter 33 – Katydid from Nicaragua

 

Subject: Interesting Bug from Ometepe, Nicaragua
Location: La Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua
December 13, 2013 2:45 pm
Hi Bugman,
I took a trip to Nicaragua in October and spotted an interesting looking insect while I was on the island of Ometepe in Lake Nicaragua. It was on a gate post in a forested area. It was about 4 inches long and my guide, an Ometepe local, had never seen this particular type of insect before. Any idea what it was?
Thanks!
Signature: Allison from SF, CA

Hi Allison,
This is some species of Katydid, and it is a female as evidenced by the ovipositor protruding from the end of the abdomen.  We will try to contact Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki to see if he can provide a species or genus name.

Piotr Naskrecki Responds
Hi Daniel,
This is a nymph of Ancistrocercus sp. (Pseudophyllinae), but hard to say which species.
Cheers,
Piotr

Thanks so much for the info!!!

 

Letter 34 – Katydid Nymph

 

immature insect
I was curious about this colorful insect I recently found, I assume it is an immature form, but of what I do not know. The hind legs remind me of a grasshopper.
Anthony

Hi Anthony,
This is an immature Katydid. Katydids are related to grasshoppers, being in the same order, but different families.

Letter 35 – Katydid Nymph

 

Subject: Assassin Bug?
Location: Torrance, southern California, U.S.A.
May 25, 2013 10:17 pm
Found this in my front yard in the jasmine, it is very small (less than an inch) and I snapped a picture of it, then asked my friends what they thought it was. It has sparked an argument and we have decided that it is probably some sort of assassin bug, but I have perused pages and pages of photos and have not seen anything that looks like this. Do you know?
Signature: Erica

Hi Erica,
We are so happy to hear that the identification of this insect has sparked a dialog as to its identity.  It is not an Assassin Bug, but rather an immature Katydid.  Adult Katydids often resemble large green grasshoppers with long antennae.  We are postdating your submission to go live in early June since we will be away from the office and we want daily updates to our site.

Thank you so much! I’m glad to hear that it’s not an Assassin Bug and I really like Katydids. By the way, I love the site and use it frequently, keep up the good work. Thanks again!

Letter 36 – Katydid Nymph

 

Subject: Orthopteran? Coleoptera?
Location: Virginia coast, Chesapeake bay, U.S.
June 20, 2017 3:17 pm
Photo taken east coast U.S. near Chesapeake bay, virginia
Signature: Joe

Please disregard previous identification request — I found out the insect in question is a katydid, scudderia-genus nymph

Hi Joe,
Your image of a Bush Katydid nymph is just too cute to disregard, so we posted it.

Letter 37 – Katydid Nymph

 

Subject:  Grasshopper, Katydid, or something else?
Geographic location of the bug:  Austin, Texas
Date: 06/13/2019
Time: 03:41 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  We hail from the northeast and have found that everything is bigger in Texas when it comes to insects!  This one didn’t jump or fly when we approached but lazily stretched one leg at a time almost as if exercising. My youngest was concerned when we found a brown version with large “stinger” but his brother though it to be an ovipositor.
How you want your letter signed:  The Meroff family

Dear Meroff family,
This is an immature Katydid, but we are not certain of the species.  The fact that it is a nymph means it has not finished growing.  Your son is correct about the “stinger” actually being a harmless ovipositor.

Letter 38 – Katydid Nymph

 

Subject:  What is this beauty?
Geographic location of the bug:  Granger, Indiana
Date: 07/31/2019
Time: 03:08 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  I found this beauty chillin’ on my snowball bush.  Seemed like a friendly guy.  I loved the red making on its back and it reminded me a bit of a grasshopper. What do you think it is?
How you want your letter signed:  Alida

Dear Alida,
Thinking your submission was of a beauty significantly affected our desire to view what you were describing.  This is an immature Katydid, possibly a Lesser Angle-Winged Katydid based on this BugGuide image, and according to BugGuide, Indiana is well within the range of this species.  Katydids and Grasshoppers are both classified withing the same insect order, Orthoptera.

Letter 39 – Male Katydid from Costa Rica: Arachnoscelis species

 

Subject:  Listroscelis or Arachnoscelis?
Geographic location of the bug:  La Cangreja National Park, Puriscal, San José, Costa Rica
Date: 01/09/2018
Time: 06:13 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Months ago I found this weird looking katydid. I know  it is from subfamily Listroscelidinae, but I’m confused about its genus. I think is a Listroscelis or an Arachnoscelis but can’t find out which the difference between them. Hope you can help me.
How you want your letter signed:  Dariel Sanabria

Dear Dariel,
Immature insects are often more difficult to identify than adults for several reasons.  First, they often look very different from adults, and secondly, adults are frequently more well documented than are immature stages.  We will send your image to Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki to see if he can provide a conclusive identification for you.

Piotr Naskrecki provides a correction and identification.
Hi Daniel,
This is indeed Arachnoscelis, an adult male. Hard to say which species without seeing a closeup of the abdominal apex.
Cheers,
Piotr Naskrecki, Ph. D.
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University

Letter 40 – Katydid Nymph from Indonesia

 

Subject: katydid probably
Location: Manglayang Mountain, West Java, Indonesia
February 21, 2013 4:42 am
Hello Daniel,
I met this guy on 04.17.2011 (photo 01) in the forest north of Bandung, West Java, Indonesia.
recently 02.17.2013 (photo 02) I met him again (Manglayang Mountain, West Java, Indonesia). I guess this one is a katydid but I’m not sure…
Signature: Mohamad Idham Iskandar

Hi Mohamad,
All of your lovely photos are a wonderful way to introduce our readership to the insect fauna of Indonesia.  You are correct that this is a Katydid, but it is a nymph, and we doubt that we will be able to identify it to the species level, though it does remind us of North American Bush Katydid nymphs.  Your individual resembles this immature Katydid posted on Monga Bay.

Hi Daniel,
Thanks for the compliment Daniel :), but the real wonderful thing are whatsthatbug.com and all the staffs for their efforts to help people to know something amazing that they didn’t know, especially for me here in Indonesia where I hardly find someone who care about them (bugs).
World of insects always amazes me, colors, patterns, shapes, how they live… speechless…
Ohhh… last night I just got series of photos of a molting striped lynx spider… and I want to share it with whatsthatbug.com readers… after processing it though… 🙂
-Mohamad Idham Iskandar

 

Letter 41 – Katydid nymph from Italy

 

Subject: Bug in the Veneto
Location: Lozzo Atestino (PD), Italy
June 16, 2013 10:55 am
My friend who lives in Lozzo Atestino (PD), Italy, has several of these gorgeous cricket-looking thingies at his house in the Colli Euganei. He is trying to learn what they are and what they might eat (one hopes not grape vines nor olive trees). Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Signature: Anna

Dear Anna,
This is a Katydid, a group of insects classified with crickets in the suborder Ensifera.  We did a superficial search and could not come up with any matching images of this colorful specimen.  We will try to contact Piotr Naskrecki, a Katydid expert, to see if he can identify the species, however, we suspect he is out of the office on a collecting trip as he did not respond to our last few identification requests.

Piotr Naskrecki responds
Hi Daniel,
This is a male of Barbitistes sp. (Phaneropterinae). They are quite polymorphic and range from light green to nearly black in their coloration. Hard to say which species without being able to see the cerci, though.
Cheers,
Piotr

Comment
After the email from Piotr Naskrecki I found this link (http://www.unipd.it/esterni/wwwfitfo/barbitistes.htm) showing the species “Barbitistes vicetinus”, which appears to be common exactly in Veneto. See also a picture here: http://www.unipd.it/esterni/wwwfitfo/immagini/Barbitistes%20Forma%20tipica%20maschio.jpg. Maybe you could send the first link to Anna. The page describes what they eat, which is what Anna wanted to know.
Ciao,
Saverio

Thanks Saverio

No problem. I am a lawyer and I know nothing about bugs, which scare the hell out of me. For the same reason, I am fascinated by any kind of bug/spider. So, in case you need help for Italian-related questions, let me know: while I am no entomologist, I love to investigate …

Letter 42 – Katydid Nymph from Singapore

 

Subject: Singapore Katydid
Location: Singapore
March 22, 2014 10:20 pm
Hi Daniel.
I’ve seen this Katydid on Flickr from a few different photographers but no one has a name for it. I was able to photograph it for the first time this week and I’d love to be able to put a full name on it. Maybe Piotr would have some idea? It seems pretty distinctive so it might be ‘easy’ for him to ID.
Hope you’re well,
Signature: David

Dear David,
This Katydid is an immature nymph, and many times nymphs greatly differ from adults in coloration and markings.  We found a matching individual on DeviantArt, but as you indicated, it is not identified.  It is also unidentified on Singapore Nature.  As you requested, we will contact Piotr Naskrecki to see if he can identify this colorful little guy.

Letter 43 – Katydid from Spain: Thyreonotus corsicus

 

Subject: cricket in Spain
Location: Andalucia, Spain
November 21, 2016 11:48 am
Hello,
there are a lot of large crickets here in Southern Spain. The one in photos I found from a walkway in June this year. The body was around 25 mm but legs very long. A special looking creature I think.
If you would be able to identify this would be very nice.
Kind regards,
Signature: Pasi

Dear Pasi,
Though they are related, your insect is a Katydid, not a Cricket.  We found a matching image on FlickR, but it is not identified, so we continued to search until we found another image on FlickR that is identified as Thyreonotus corsicus.  Here is another FlickR image.  Here is a nice blog with some information and an image and range map on Nature du Gard.

Dear Daniel,
thank you for really great help in identifying this insect! I have today checked also the links you sent, very good.
Kind regards,
Pasi

Letter 44 – Katydid specimen from Mexico

 

Subject: Orthoptera identification
Location: Mexico Chiapas
February 20, 2017 10:24 am
HI,
I recently purchased this specimen. It came with no name, other than Orthoptera ssp. The location on the collection data did indicate Mexico Chiapas. It’s quite beautiful. Anyone know what the genus and species name is?
Thanks!!
Signature: Bug Lady

Dear Bug Lady,
Your file is labeled as “Grasshopper” but this is actually a Katydid in the family Tettigoniidae.  We believe Katydids sometimes lose their color after death, so many bright green species appear quite faded as mounted specimens.  We will contact Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki to see if he can provide a species name for you.

Thank you!! Any help is greatly appreciated!
Katja Hilton
Amazing & Beautiful Butterflies

Piotr Naskrecki provides an identification.
Hi Daniel,
This is Moncheca pretiosa (Tettigoniidae: Conocephalinae: Copiphorini).
Cheers,
Piotr
Piotr Naskrecki, Ph. D.
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University

Ed. Note:  As we suspected, the living Moncheca pretiosa we have in our archives is much more beautiful than the mounted specimen.

Thank you so much…Wow, they really do fade!
Katja Hilton

Letter 45 – Katydid from Thailand

 

Subject: Leaf Bug
Location: Phrao, Chiang Mai, Thailand
August 3, 2014 7:29 pm
Hi bugman
I’ve tried to look this one up but always found bugs that were far too small to be this one and looked too different. From what I remember when I took this photo was when I tried to get it down to have a closer look it took flight and flapped more like a bird then buzzing bug. Kind of freaked me out. Maybe I was seeing things but if you can confirm what this is it would be great. Thanks for the hard work.
Signature: PsychPeter

Dear PsychPeter,
This is some species of Katydid in the family Tettigoniidae, and most species of Katydids from all over the world are excellent leaf mimics.  We will try to contact Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki to see if he can provide a genus or species for this individual that looks very similar to a Sylvan Katydid, Cratioma sp., Piotr identified for us in the past.

Letter 46 – Katydids

 

Hi,
I’ve wasted at least an hour on the web trying to identify the bugs on my tomato plants. I had hoped I could simply locate them without having to ask, but apparently not.The only thing that it almost looks like is the nymph squash bug, but that’s definitely not what I’ve got. The body is orange with little black dots on the abdomen, and it has six black legs and it has a sucker that it sticks into the plant like a mosquito in your skin. I originally thought they were harmless as they appeared all of a sudden one day but didn’t seem to be doing any damage.I shook them off, but they keep coming back–now I squish them if I can find them. They are less than a centimeter long and leave my leaves with a million little pinprick-looking holes–I’m not sure if they’re eating the fruit. Also, I haven’t been able to locate any eggs, or a younger or older version. Please, hopefully you can tell me what these things are!
Thanks,
Tracy in Louisiana

Dear Tracy,
It sounds like you may have the nymph stage of the Keelbacked Treehopper (Antianthe expansa) which feeds on solanaceous garden plants, mainly peppers and tomatoes, though I have also found them on eggplant. The adults are green and winged, and sometimes appear along with large colonies of nymphs. They move quickly, trying to avoid danger. They have sucking mouthparts, and drain the life giving sap from their host plants, so though they do not eat the tomatoes proper, they can do considerable damage to the plants. This is compounded by the secretion of honeydew, which attracts ants as well as increasing the chances for secondary infections to the plants. Eradicate them.

Hello again,
Sorry to report, but that’s not what I’ve got. The bodies are much skinnier and they really are distinctly orange with just the few little black dots on the abdomen. I’ve captured one and noticed that they molt and right afterwards, their whole bodies (including legs and antennae and sucker) are orange temporarily, then the legs antennae and sucker go back to black.If you can’t identify them, it isn’t the end of the world. But do you think that if I water the plants with soapy water it will kill them? (This was my mom’s suggestion.) And does the type of soap matter? (I used Palmolive)
Thanks again,
Tracy Morton

Hi again Tracy,
Let’s try this again.;Sometimes the nymph stage of an insect is radically different from the adult, at least in color. Most katydids are green, but the nymph of the Fork-Tailed Bush Katydid (Scudderia mexicana), as well as other members of the genus Scudderia, is orange with blue and black markings. Try looking at the photo of Scudderia furnica on this website to see it that is what you have. Remember, there are slight color variations between individuals. http://kaweahoaks.com/html/katydid.html
Regarding the soapy water question: make sure that the soap is very dilute, or it might do more damage to your plants than the bugs you are trying to eradicate. I like Ivory, but Palmolive is also mild.

October 1. 2002 it looked like a grasshopper with way long legs like if a spider and a grasshopper mated or something and i think it might have been able to fly, im in the midwest, please tell me what this evil creature was that scared me nearly to death? jenny

Dear Jenny,
Was it green? It might be a species of katydid. Check out other letters on our site that go into details about the habits and life cycles of these relatives of the grasshoppers. It isn’t really evil, and though they eat the leaves of plants, they are not known to occur in such large numbers to really be considered a pest. There are many romantic stories associated with katydids.

Letter 47 – Katydids

 

katydid far from home?
Hi,
Last summer two male katydids courted a female above my front door for a couple of weeks, which was really exciting because I live in Vancouver, Canada – not exactly prime katydid territory. I spent hours trying to identify their species, researching them online, using taxonomic keys, and comparing ovipositors, but I kept getting stumped when it came down to species’ range maps. Based on anatomy alone, I was 99% sure that our visitors were drumming katydids (Meconema thalassinum), despite the fact that all the information I’d found on the species puts their range about 3500km east of here. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a clear enough photo to submit to you (unless you can id blurry green blobs) and so the best I could do was to reassure myself that I’d identified them correctly. Well, lo and behold, a lone male has appeared in the same spot again this year and I have a brand new zoom lens for my camera. I’d be really grateful if you could confirm that this IS a drumming katydid and if so, how rare the species is out here. I mean, should I be calling up the local entomology department to have them document the find? Or is the info I’ve found totally out of date & these guys are really common in BC? Thanks so much! You guys rock!
C.S.

Dear C.S.,
We also believe your identification of the Drumming Katydid is correct. There is a near identical match on BugGuide and the range is listed as Southern New England. Why is it in Vancouver? Global Warming? Possible accidental introduction? We think you should check with local experts and we will inquire with Eric Eaton if he has an opinion on the matter. Thanks for sending in your photo and story. Eric Eaton has verified the identification: “Yes, it is a drumming katydid (male), and its occurence should probably be reported to provincial agriculture authorities, eh? Seriously, it may be of interest to BC entomologists.”

Update: (07/03/2008) Katydid IDs from Piotr Naskrecki
Hi,
I have been looking at the page with unidentified katydids (Katydids 2), and thought I could help with some ID’s. From top to bottom they are: Meconema thalssinum

Letter 48 – Katydids

 

On the road again
Hi
Driving through the Texas hill country last year these guys were walking across the road. They were all over the place but walking. He stopped in his tracks when I got within 4 feet. I’d guess he is about 3 inches long. I used the zoom feature on my camera not wanting to get any closer. LOL
Wesley O’Rear

Hi Wesley,
Last year there was a significant mass emergence of the Truncated True Katydid, Paracyrtophyllus robustus, in this pink/brown variation in Texas. This species is most often green. Before we realized your spectacular photo was a year old, we thought there might be another mass emergence.You can see more on BugGuide. He is a she as evidenced by her swordlike ovipositor.

Letter 49 – Keeled Shield-Back Katydid

 

shield back?
These long-horned grasshoppers or katydids were near a pond opening in an Oregon fir forest — north coast range area. Can you ID from the photos? They were plentiful. Photos taken July 15, 2006. Thanks,
Lona

Hi Lona,
This is a Keeled Shield-Back Katydid, Neduba carinata. They are found in coastal areas from California to British Columbia.

Letter 50 – Kekoa the Katydid: Died in captivity

 

Kekoa the Katydid – RIP
Location: Vancouver, Washington
January 2, 2011 4:41 am
Well, she lived much longer than I had originally thought she would after laying her eggs, and I’m not happy to see her go, but I’ve got her babies to watch for in the spring and maybe raise one of them in her stead. Left four days ago for a new years trip, came back early rather than on Monday because of family issues, to discover my brother telling me he’d seen her face down in the bottom of her cage for a while, and she hadn’t been moving. I checked on her, and sure enough she was dead, and her body starting to brown. Even in death I think she is beautiful. Sad to see her go, but her role in life was done, and I’m proud to have helped her live it through 🙂
Found her on Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11th
She laid eggs on Nov. 23rd through 27th (more here:  She laid eggs on Nov. 23rd through 27th)
Passed away either Dec. 30 / 31st
When her babies start to emerge, I’ll take pictures and help increase the Katydid picture resources! 🙂
Signature: Sincerely, Kaetlin the bug fanatic

Dear Kaitlin,
Thanks for keeping us informed of the death of your pet Katydid.  As you indicated, her life in captivity probably increased her longevity.  We hope she has produced viable eggs for you and we look forward to additional updates when the eggs hatch.

Letter 51 – Kekoa's Eggs: Bush Katydid lays eggs in captivity

 

Bush Katydid Eggs
Location: Vancouver, Washington
December 3, 2010 10:46 am
Hi, it’s the gal with the bush Katydid named Kekoa, again. I said I’d update on her if she laid eggs – and on Nov. 23rd she did! I waited a day or two after the laid, what seemed to be her last clutch of eggs, and then took out the leaves she’d lain in so I could proffer new ones, in case she’s not done yet.
I’ve counted 17 eggs, that I can see inside leaf-pockets, and several more discarded on the ground of her terrarium. I had thought she’d bee a Katydid who’d lay eggs over a stick or elsewhere, and didn’t think that she’d want thick leaves to lay in, so by a stroke of luck on a snowy day I grabbed some ivy leaves, later that night she went to town. I sent a message in a few days earlier with pictures of her actually laying the eggs – but here are ones of the eggs by themselves.
Signature: Sincerely, Kaetlin the bug fanatic

Hi again Kaetlin,
We waited a bit to post this update because we were so late in posting the previous update of Kekoa in Captivity.

Letter 52 – Koringkriek or ShieldBack Katydid

 

What’s this bug?
Location: Kruger Park, South Africa
April 19, 2011 12:12 am
Saw this on a recent trip to Kruger Park in South Africa resting on the screen door to our cabin and had a hard time believing it was real.
Signature: pete

Dear Pete,
Several years ago we received a similar image which we identified as a ShieldBack Katydid, commonly called a Koringkriek in South Africa.  Koringkriek is an Afrikaans word, and it is also known as an Armored Ground Cricket.  In addition to the links we found on the earlier posting, there is some information on the Wilkinson’s World website.  The BugBitten website also lists the common name Gogga.  You may also want to visit the World’s Best Photos of koringkriek web page.

Letter 53 – Koringkriek from South Africa

 

Subject: Koringkriek
Location: 25 km before Colesberg area
December 27, 2016 12:48 pm
We found this koring krieket at our overnight stay coming back from Betties Bay.
Signature: Hendrik

Dear Hendrik,
Your Koringkriek image is a marvelous documentation of this South African Katydid.  According to Piotr Nakrecki of The Smaller Majority:  “Despite their bulky appearance and scary-looking armature, these wonderful katydids are, like most insects, completely harmless. Their spikes and horns are nothing more than protection against birds and lizards, and can only be used to make their body more difficult to swallow – they cannot jab, poke, or cut anybody with their armor. The katydids’ only other defense is reflexive bleeding, quite similar to that seen in oil beetles that I recently wrote about. But unlike the beetles, whose blood contains deadly cantharidin, that of the katydids is not toxic. And, in contrast to other katydids who sometimes try to nibble you if handled, armored katydids never, ever bite, no matter how roughly they are treated.”

Letter 54 – Leaf Mimic Katydid from Trinidad and Tobago

 

Subject: Can u please tell me what kind of insect is this?
Location: Trinidad and Tobago, Caribbean
February 19, 2016 4:05 pm
Hello, thank u for any assistance u can provide in indentifying this bug. I live in the Caribbean and usually come across some interesting bugs but this one has me so curious. Again thank u for whatever information u can provide.
Signature: Kimberly

Dear Kimberly,
We believe this is a Leaf Mimic Katydid, Pycnopalpa bicordata, a species we located on PBase.  There are many nice images on FlickRiver, and according to Insects and Spiders of Trinidad, it is found in your area.  

Letter 55 – Lichen Katydid from Costa Rica

 

Subject: crazy grasshopper in costa rica
Location: Costa Rica
October 30, 2016 7:20 pm
Hi,
Sorry for all the submissions tonight. My husband and I live in Costa Rica and are aspiring nature photographers who see a lot of weird bugs and insects, but I will try not to overwhelm you with my hundreds of cool shots 🙂 Our neighbor took this photo of a strange ghost jellyfish looking grasshopper, any idea what kind it is? Thanks
Signature: Kari Pinkerton Silcox

Dear Kari,
This is not a Grasshopper.  It is a Katydid.  We located a matching image on SongStar, but alas, it is not identified.  It is identified as Markia hystrix on Nature Images and it is called by the common name Lichen Katydid on iNaturalist.

Letter 56 – Lichen Katydid from Ecuador

 

Subject: unknown katiedid/grasshopper
Location: Pastaza, Ecuador
August 12, 2012 12:25 am
I took these pictures last October in the Amazon in Ecuador and I have had no luck figuring out what it is.
Signature: bjkalma

Dear bjkalma,
It seems that worldwide, Katydids have a knack for being able to mimic their natural surroundings, however many exotic species seem otherworldly when they are photographed against more neutral backgrounds that cause them to stand out as opposed to blending in.  We did a web search of Katydids in Ecuador and quickly found this link to Gail Shumway Photography that identifies this as a Lichen Katydid, Markia hystrix.  We then hoped for a more scientific website to corroborate that ID and we found a photo on Animals and Earth with the Lichen Katydid as well as the lichen it mimics.  An individual from Panama is also pictured on Project Noah.  Thank you for this fine addition to our archive.

 

Letter 57 – Magnificent Female Katydid from Panama

 

Subject: Can you ID this one??
Location: Boquete, Panama
February 13, 2017 7:41 am
Good Morning!
We are currently living in Boquete, Panama. Found this guy on my fence rail yesterday afternoon. Can’t find any info on it. If you could give me a name that would be great.
Thanks!
Signature: Susan

Dear Susan,
Though we are posting all of your images, had we to choose a single image, it would be the lateral view that really displays the distinctive dark orange-brown ovipositor on this magnificent female Katydid.  The coloration is quite different, but it is not too dissimilar from this Moss Mimic Katydid from Costa Rica in our archives.  This immature individual on Project Noah also shares many similarities.  We will attempt to contact Piotr Naskrecki to see if he can provide a species name.

Piotr Naskrecki provides an identification
Hi Daniel,
This is Acanthodis curvidens, (Pseudophylinae).
Cheers,
Piotr
————————————————————————–
Piotr Naskrecki, Ph. D.
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University

Ed. Note:  We did find this image of a male on FlickR.  Here is another FlickR  image.

 

 

Letter 58 – Male Central Texas Leaf Katydid Nymph

 

Subject: Green 6 legged insect with 2 wings and long antanae
Location: San Antonio Texas
May 21, 2013 3:05 pm
I’ve never seen this insect before
Signature: Marcus Guerra

Hi Marcus,
We believe this is a male Central Texas Leaf Katydid nymph, Paracyrtophyllus robustus, also known as the Truncated True Katydid.  We identified it on BugGuide.  Most of our photos are of the red form, so it is nice to receive your photo of the green form.  BugGuide notes:  “‘Red Katydid’ – vernacular name in Texas. Isolated individuals are green, whereas outbreak individuals are mostly pink.”  This must not be an outbreak year.

Letter 59 – Male Drumming Katydid

 

Subject:  Strange green insect
Geographic location of the bug:  Rural western Pennsylvania, Somerset county
Date: 08/03/2018
Time: 06:05 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Found this little critter in my bathroom, hanging out on my wall.
How you want your letter signed:  Thanks, and blessings. Stan.

Dear Stan,
This is an introduced male Drumming Katydid, Meconema thalassinum, which you may verify by comparing your image to this BugGuide image.  According to BugGuide:  “A tiny, sea-green katydid with a tympanum fully exposed on each foretibia. Forewings longer than hindwings. No stridulatory area apparent at base of male forewings. Male cerci long, slender, tubular, curving upwards” and the range is “Europe. Introduced into North America; currently Michigan & Ohio east to Atlantic coast; sw. British Columbia to w. Oregon, and likely still expanding. See also BugGuide range map for an indication of the expansion of the range into neighboring states.”

Letter 60 – Male Greater Meadow Katydid

 

Subject: grasshoppers
Location: Madera Canyon, AZ
November 4, 2016 2:18 pm
Many different species of grasshopper in the multible biomes of this southeastern part of Arizona near the Sky Islands and in Madera Canyon. A mix of oak woodlands, succulents and pines in the upper region. I’ve tried to ID them online, but nothing looks quite what I photographed. One naturalist said one was a differential grasshopper, but again I didn’t see the resemblance.
Signature: Thank you, Leanne Grossman

Dear Leanne,
We believe we have a second identification for you.  Grasshoppers generally have shorter antennae, and we believe this individual is a male Greater Meadow Katydid in the genus Orchelimum, and we also believe he is an immature specimen as the wings are not yet fully developed.  Compare your individual to this BugGuide image.  There are Arizona sightings on BugGuide.  According to BugGuide:  “many Orchelimum have some white mottling or other coloration, such as red.”

Letter 61 – Male Shieldback Katydid from France

 

what is it
Location: Southern France
June 30, 2011 3:36 pm
saw this bug in the bedroom, would be interested to know what it is.
Signature: Dave

Hi Dave,
This is a male Shieldback Katydid, and we believe it is in the genus Ephippiger.  We will try to get additional information.

Letter 62 – Meadow Katydid

 

a katydid
Greetings! I saw this in mid August in a Cypress swamp in Hilton Head, SC. I thought it was a grasshopper, but then I started looking on your site and realized that it is a Katydid. A Red-headed Meadow Katydid?? Just a wild guess. thanks. I love your site.
Betsy Higgins

Hi Betsy,
According to images posted to BugGuide, we believe you have the genus correct, but that this is a different species of Meadow Katydid. We favor Orchelimum minor.

Update: (07/03/2008) Katydid IDs from Piotr Naskrecki
Hi,
I have been looking at the page with unidentified katydids (Katydids 2), and thought I could help with some ID’s. From top to bottom they are: Meadow katydid – Orchelimum (possibly eythrocephalum, but this is a nymph)

Letter 63 – Meadow Katydid

 

Subject: Trying to identify this creature
Location: Oklahoma City, OK, USA
November 20, 2015 9:10 am
This was found dead on a window sill in Oklahoma City, OK this past week. I’ve tried googling the image to no avail. Could you help me?
Signature: Anne Reynolds

Dear Anne,
This is a Katydid, and the sickle-like ovipositor indicates she is a female.  We believe she is a Meadow Katydid in the genus Orchelimum, possibly the Long Spurred Meadow Katydid, Orchelimum silvaticum, which is pictured on BugGuide. or possibly the Common Meadow Katydid, Orchelimum vulgare, which is also pictured on BugGuide.

Letter 64 – Meadow Katydid Nymph

 

Subject: Cattail Katydid
Location: Dallas, Georgia
July 15, 2013 2:49 pm
I thought you would like this additional photo of this lovely little guy. Found it in my house near the front door. After taking the photos I released it to the world outside.
Signature: Tweakie Molinari

Hi Tweakie,
Thank you for your submission, but we are not fully convinced that this is a Cattail Katydid, though we do agree it belongs to the same subfamily Conocephalinae which includes Conehead Katydids and Meadow Katydids.  Based on photos submitted to BugGuide, this might be a very young Straight-Lanced Meadow Katydid, Conocephalus strictus.

Letter 65 – Meadow or Cone-headed Grasshopper

 

Cricket?
I can’t tell you what a find you were on the internet. Today, I was photographing insects on milk weed. I found six different insects. These three are not in any of my books. I think this is a tree cricket of some kind.
They where in Orland Grassland in Orland Park Illinois.Thanks again… you are great!
Suzanne

Hi Suzanne,
This is a nymph stage of a Long Horned Grasshopper, probably the subfamily Conocephalinae, known as Meadow Grasshoppers by Borror and Delong and as Cone-headed Grasshoppers online. Our best guess might be Conocephalus dorsalis, a Short Winged Cone-headed Grasshopper which we found photographed as an adult female on Angelfire. Your photo is of a young female because of the ovipositor.

Letter 66 – Moroccan Bush Cricket

 

Subject: What’s this big Moroccan bug?
Location: Morocco
May 31, 2017 3:17 pm
Hi Bugman,
Can you help identify and tell me more about this bug? It was huge and looked like a grenade with legs!
Spotted in Morocco and the locals call it a Black Bettle.
Look forward to your opinion!
Thanks,
Signature: Pilot Pete

Dear Pilot Pete,
We found this old posting from our archives that Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki identified as being in the genus Eugaster, but that is a black individual and your individual is much lighter.  Based on images posted to Orthoptera Species File, we believe your individual is Eugaster spinulosa.  There is some amusing information on Revolvy, including:  “It is known as the whistle cricket, because herdsmen would dry it and pull off its legs, in order to use the cricket as a whistle.” 

Letter 67 – 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

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.

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.

Letter 68 – Moss Mimic Katydid from Costa Rica

 

Subject: From Costa Rica
Location: Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica
November 1, 2012 3:54 pm
Hello Bugman,
I found this strange looking bug (cricket?) on my water bottle in my house a few weeks ago at night. I took it outside afterwards. Thanks!
Signature: Chris

Hi Chris,
We have posted photos of Moss Mimic Katydids from Costa Rica before, and we are not certain if your individual is the same species.  We will contact Katydid expert Piort Naskrecki to see if he can verify this Katydid’s identity.

Hi Daniel,
Thank you!  I have asked several Costa Ricans and they have no idea what kind it is.  I looked at the link for the Moss Mimic and it does look similar but still somewhat different so I am interested in the verification.
Regards,
Chris

Letter 69 – Moss Mimic Katydid from Guinea: Batodromeus subulo

 

moss camo orthoptera
Location: Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea
March 2, 2011 4:38 pm
found this guy on bioko island in a caldera. thought it was pretty neat. would you be able to id for me?
Signature: tim

Hi Tim,
We have been getting some interesting photos of moss and lichen mimicking Katydids from various places in the world lately, and we have been enlisting the assistance of Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki in the species or genus identification.  We will write to Piotr to get his opinion.

Piotr Naskrecki provides an identification
Hi Daniel,
This is a pretty rarely collected beast, Batodromeus subulo (Pseudophyllinae, Pleminiini). The genus Batodromeus is remarkably similar to the neotropica moss-mimicking genus Championica, but the two do not appear to be closely related.
Cheers,
Piotr

Thanks Piotr,
Is it rare because it is endemic to the caldera?
Daniel

Daniel,
This species is not endemic to Bioko, it is known also from Cameroon, but it is very rarely collected because of its association with canopy epiphytes. In 5 years of katydid collecting in West Africa I only managed to find one individual of the genus Batodromeus.
Cheers,
Piotr

On Mar 4, 2011, at 2:20, daniel marlos <dmarlos@roadrunner.com> wrote:

Letter 70 – Moss Mimicking Katydid

 

Re: Raspy cricket from Australia
Hi Bugman,
When I first saw the image submitted of the ‘raspy cricket’ from Australia, I thought it was a moss mimicking katydid. It’s fascinating how similar they are in appearance. I had submitted my photo to your site, and did receive an e-mail reply, but apparently my image was not sufficient for an ID. I did manage to eventually get it identified:
This a nymph of Championica montana Saussure & Pictet, 1898 (Pseudophyllinae, Pleminiini), a gorgeous moss mimicking katydid, common in Mesoamerica. I never managed to record its call, but its close relative, C. cristulata, has a very bird-like, frequency modulated call, very unusual for New World Tettigoniidae. Cheers,
Piotr
Piotr Naskrecki, Ph. D.
Director, Invertebrate Diversity Initiative
Conservation International

Dear Nancy or Piotr,
We are sorry we failed in the original identification of this Moss Mimicking Katydid. We recall these images, but it seems we never posted them to our site. When we are very busy, sometimes we don’t have time to post everything we want to post or should post. Please provide us with some background. When and where was the photo taken? Was it photographed in Nicaragua in 2005 as the name of the digital file implies? Also, was this letter submitted by Nancy and is Piotr the expert who identified it? Is there a good link with information on the species?

Hi Daniel,
Yes, the katydid was photographed at Selva Negra, Nicaragua in 2005. I have copied the entire e-mail chain for you as it gives everyone’s titles as well as a few sites. Hope this info is helpful to your site. p.s. I just bought a camera with Macro capability and am headed back to Selva Negra in January. I’m going to check out that huge boulder again 🙂
Nancy Collins, Wisconsis

Editor’s Note: Here is Nancy’s original email (that was sent to several knowledgeable experts as well as to What’s That Bug?) and responses she received.
(08/28/2007) Greetings,
Is there any advice you can give me on how to find the name of this insect? I encountered it in Nicaragua. It was about 6 inches long, and was very flat. The hind legs were flat against the rock. It was sharing a huge boulder with hundreds of spiders. Thank you for your time,
Nancy Collins, Wisconsin

Tom – what do you say about this critter?
Lyle Buss
Insect Identification Laboratory
Entomology & Nematology Dept.
University of Florida

Flat Nicaraguan Katydid
Piotr,
Can you identify this beast? The best I could do was to suspect it was a Pseudophylline.
Thomas J. Walker
Department of Entomology & Nematology
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

Dear Tom,
This a nymph of Championica montana Saussure & Pictet, 1898 (Pseudophyllinae, Pleminiini), a gorgeous moss mimicking katydid, common in Mesoamerica. I never managed to record its call, but its close relative, C. cristulata, has a very bird-like, frequency modulated call, very unusual for New World Tettigoniidae. Cheers,
Piotr Naskrecki, Ph. D. Director, Invertebrate Diversity Initiative
Conservation International
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University

Hi Nancy,
Thanks for providing us with this wonderful identification chain and also for resending your photos to us despite us failing to provide you with and identification. As your email chain indicates, even qualified experts had difficulty with the exact identification. Identification of many rain forest species is nearly impossible without the help of specialists.

Letter 71 – Mt Washington Drama: Male Green Lynx interrupts Katydid Romance

 

September 3, 2010 @ 1:04 AM
A male Green Lynx Spider, my favorite Los Angeles spider, was hunting a male Katydid while his ladyKaty watched on horrified from the door jamb.  I tried to save the Katydid and removed him and his mate jumped away.  Too late I thought I might have caught them and refrigerated them, perhaps allowing them to warm up and eat every few days in a feeble attempt to keep them alive for live television.  {They all want bugs.  I don’t travel with bugs he thought as he suddenly remembered the dead Fig Eater he had picked up on the sidewalk on the way for Armenian food.}  By the time I got the idea to photograph them, the LadyKaty was gone.  By the time I thought to capture them and chill them, both Katydids were gone.  I could always capture and chill that trophy Green Lynx, but I can’t bear to remove him from my yard.  I know he will have lots of spiderlings.

Though moments earlier the spider had been stalking the Orthopteran.

In our garden, the female Green Lynx Spiders are usually found on foliage.  This beautiful male was a bit out of focus in the previously posted image, so we found a sharper one where his pedipalps really show.  We hope he stays on the porch light.  We are going to talk to Julian Donahue about refrigerating insects to see how long we can keep specimens in the refrigerator before our tentative October interview on local news.

Letter 72 – Mystery Moroccan Orthopteran is Armored Ground Cricket: Eugaster guyoni

 

Giant beetle in Anti Atlas mountains Morocco
When looking for information about a giant beetle we saw in the Anti Atlas mountains in Morocco i came across your website. You have any information about this giant bug? Regards,
Joost de Wall

Hi Joost,
This looks to us like some type of Orthopteran, the crickets and katydids. We will see if Eric Eaton can assist us. Here is Eric’s speedy response: “The mystery Moroccan orthopteran is an Armored Ground Cricket, which is actually a flightless katydid in the subfamily Hetrodinae. Apparently they are not uncommon in desert habitats.”

Letter 73 – Mystery: Unknown Orthopteran from South Africa is Koringkrieks

 

Yellow insect from South Africa?
June 1, 2010
Ok, so my friend sent me a picture of the mysterious bug that wouldn’t die! I’m sorry this is such a terrible picture… all of the pictures in this album were taken with a cell phone as that was their only camera at the time! My friends are told that they are harmless.
Stacy F.
South Africa (Bugeni)

Hi Stacy,
We believe this must be an Orthopteran, but we do not recognize it.  We wonder if perhaps it is a type of Weta.  We are going to contact Piotr Naskrecki to see if he recognizes it.

Piotr Naskrecki Identifies Koringkrieks
Hi Marcos,
This is Enyaliopsis transvaalensis (Tettigoniidae: Hetrodinae), member of a group of katydids known in South Africa as koringkrieks. Although unrelated to European Bradyporinae, they also exhibit reflexive bleeding as a defense mechanism. This species is common in NE South Africa (the old Transvaal.)
Piotr

?Hi Daniel,
Actually, I think I identfied this bug and it is a  Shieldback Katydid, also known as Koringkriek. Ask PiotrNaskrecki if he thinks I am correct.
The main thing is, are they harmless? We have a missionary family tha are pretty freaked out by these because they have a small child.
Sincerely,
Stacy Fisher

?Thanks for helping me out in this! You have an excellent site! I go there whenever I find some bizarre critters (and believe me, it’s often, ha ha)
Take care,
Stacy Fisher

Letter 74 – Oblong Winged Katydid

 

Can you identify this bug for us?
We found this on our crab apple tree- any idea what it is? My son is crazy with wonder about it! Oops… I forgot to give you our geographic location… We are in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, IL.
Thanks.
The Chenicek’s

Hi Cheniceks,
This is an Oblong Winged Katydid, Amblycorypha oblongifolia. It ranges over most of the east and is found in deciduous woods and gardens, on trees and bushes. Males sing with a series of lisping chirps.

Letter 75 – Oblong Winged Katydid: Orange (Tan) Morph

 

Orange Katydid
Hi
I came across your website when i was looking for info on what seemed to be a pretty unusual insect. The picture was taken in SW Virginia. How rare do you think this is?
Thanks
Gary

Hi Gary,
According to our Audubon Insect Guide: the Oblong Winged Katydid, Amblycorypha oblongifolia, is “Leaf-green or rarely pastel pink or tan.” I guess in some peoples’ opinion, tan might be viewed as orange. The color morph is still rare. We have received pink specimen photos, but never this color.

Letter 76 – Orthopteran from Minnesota

 

Subject: It’s huge!
Location: Minneapolis Minnesota
May 30, 2013 4:17 pm
I found this in Minneapolis Minnesota in the grass please tell me what it is I am struggling to find info.
Signature: Zach

Hi Zach,
We wish you had a photo of the back or dorsal surface of this impressive Orthopteran.  We believe it is some type of Katydid.  We will check with Piotr Naskrecki who specializes in Katydids.  We are postdating your image to go live June 10 since we will be out of the office and we like daily posts to occur on our site.

Letter 77 – Ovate Shieldback

 

Subject: haven’t got a clue on what this is
Location: Northern California
October 24, 2013 2:24 pm
Just trying to figure out what this insect is.
Signature: Jason Dalen

Dear Jason,
We believe we have identified your Katydid as an Ovate Shieldback, Aglaothorax ovata, and this is a new species for our site.  We identified it on BugGuide.  The long ovipositor indicates that this is a female.

Letter 78 – Ovipositing Katydid from Costa Rica

 

Subject:  Orthoptera Identification
Geographic location of the bug:  Manzanillo, Costa Rica
Date: 12/19/2018
Time: 11:33 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Could you please help me identify this orthoptera?
Thank you.
How you want your letter signed:  7Song

Dear 7Song,
This is a marvelous image of a female Katydid in the family Tettigoniidae and she appears to be in the act of laying eggs.  It looks similar to the Tico Katydid, Melanonotus tico, which is pictured on Getty Images.  We will attempt to contact Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki to get his opinion.

Katydid Correction Courtesy of Piotr Naskrecki
Hi Daniel,
It is a female of Idiarthron, based on the location (Limon Province) most likely I. hammuliferum.
Cheers,
Piotr

Ed. Note:  There are images of this species on the Orthoptera Species File Online.

Thank you for your reply Daniel. I have been looking for someone to help me with this photo for a while now. I look forward to your response.
~7Song
Whoops, I missed the second response, so thank you again. And a thank you to Piotr.

Letter 79 – Pair of Katydids from Madagascar: Aethiomerus adelphus

 

Subject: Madagascar Bush Cricket
Location: Madagascar
October 27, 2013 7:21 am
Hi Daniel
Thought you might be interested in this beautiful bush cricket that I encountered recently on a night walk at Andasibe-Mantadia National Park, Madagascar.
David.
Signature: David

Hi David,
Could you please direct us to the place where you identified your Bush Crickets, because we believe these to be Katydids in the family Tettigoniidae.  You also imply that there is only one individual in the photos, when in fact you have photographed a pair.  The female has the long ovipositor.  We will try to contact Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki to see if he is able to provide a species name for us.  We will be postdating your submission to go live in early November while we are away from the office.

Piotr Naskrecki Responds
Hi Daniel,
These are Aethiomerus, almost certainly A. adelphus (Conocephalinae: Agraeciini). Do you have the exact locality data for these photos? I would love to add them to my distribution database.
Cheers,
Piotr
Piotr Naskrecki, Ph. D.
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University

Hi Daniel
I always thought that the terms Bush Cricket and Katydid were interchangeable and Katydid was an American term and Bush cricket a more general term. Please correct me. I am probably completely wrong. 🙂
For Piotr the exact locality is Analamazoatra Reserve on the edge of Antasibe-Mantadia National forest in Madagascar. The exact Google GPS coordinates are -18.942214,48.416913. I will have more Madagascar Katydids for Piotr if he is interested.
Regards,
David.

Thanks David,
We have seen the term Bush Cricket, but it seems it is generally applied to flightless Katydids.  Thanks for the additional information.

Update:  October 30, 2013
This was originally planned to be a posting to go live during our absence, but since we need to link to it because of another submission, we are posting it earlier than originally planned.

 

Letter 80 – Pair of Saddlebacked Bush Crickets from Turkey

 

Subject: Cricket in Turkey
Location: Turkey , Olu Deniz, Aegean Area (coastal)
February 12, 2017 12:09 pm
Hi, I was hoping you could identify this bug.
These were taken in May 2010
Signature: Ian Smith

Dear Ian,
How marvelous that you were able to provide us with images of both a female (with the curved ovipositor at the tip of her abdomen) and a male Saddlebacked Bush Cricket in the genus Ephippiger, probably E. ephippiger.  According to Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki, they are from a very primitive lineage.

Wow thanks Daniel for that very prompt reply !
I assumed it was a cricket but I haven’t been able to find an image online which even comes close to looking like mine (colours).  I guess there must be lots of “flavours” ! J
Thanks again
Ian

Letter 81 – Orthopteran Nymph eats Spider on Woody Plant

 

Subject:  What’s on my Woody Plant?
Location:  Mount Washington, Los Angeles, California
Dear What’s That Bug?
I spotted a crazy bug eating a spider on my woody plant. I know this isn’t the best picture (attached), it was at dusk and I was using the light of a headlamp and an iPhone, but hopefully you can decipher what’s happening.
Stacked Up in Mt. Washington,
Max Yield

Dear Max Yield,
This is a Longhorned Orthopteran nymph from the suborder Ensifera, and having it living on your woody plant might not be the best long term plan.  You don’t want spiders getting eaten as they are predatory and beneficial, and the Orthopteran is likely an omnivore that will eventually eat leaves and possibly even buds.  We suspect this is some species of Katydid, and young nymphs like this can be difficult to correctly identify to the species level. In our own garden, we allow Katydids to eat rose blossoms, but you might not want anything to reduce your maximum yield.  We enjoy the sound of the Katydids at night in our garden, so we would not harm this very young, possibly second instar nymph, but we would not think twice about relocating it elsewhere in the garden as they are not especially particular about what plants they eat.  Since creating our What’s on my Woody Plant? tag, we have gotten some flack from our Facebook followers.  On August 8, Nancy Barlow wrote “Get some new material…. not funny any longer….”  Within an hour and a half, Amy Holder wrote:  “Yeah im over the woody plant coverage as well. There are other sites dude can post and show off all his weed. Gtfo.”  We didn’t know that “get the fuck out” had an acronym until we looked it up.  We can’t believe that people who follow us think that being funny is our prime objective or that we are interested in showing off weed.  We attempt to identify insects and things that crawl, and we occasionally devote tags to specific groups of plants with robust Arthropod populations, including the Milkweed Meadow and the Goldenrod Meadow.  Furthermore, we believe in the malleability of the English language, and using regional terms has a certain charm.  We would never disparage anyone who used the terms herb or mota.

Letter 82 – Phasmid from Mexico

 

Possible Leaf Insect in Huatalco, Mexico
March 30, 2010
During a Central American cruise at the end of March, we encountered this beauty. Our best guess would be some sort of leaf insect. It was about 4 inches long and after a gentle proding with a stick, it exposed mantis like wings and flew a short distance, only to attempt to camouflage itself again. Being from Illinois, we have encountered many walking sticks and mantisis but coming across this guy was a real treat! Any help would be great.
Rob & Chris F.
Huatulco, Mexico

Hi Rob and Chris,
We aren’t certain if this is a Phasmid or Walkingstick, or if it is a Katydid.  We will pester Piotr Naskrecki for the fourth time in two days for assistance.

Piotr Naskrecki writes right back
Hi Daniel,
This is Prisopus sp., a phasmid of the family Prisopodidae. There are 18
species in the genus, all rather similar.
Cheers,
Piotr

Letter 83 – Pink Katydid

 

pink katydid
We found this pink katydid (I think that’s what it is) on a hike along Skyline Drive in Virginia. It was stunning. I’ve found very little about it on the internet (except that it has been seen in Michigan). Is there anything unique about it other than it’s color?

Pink Katydids are common enough to be relatively well documented. We have about three or four previous images. Orange is an even more rare color varient.

Update: (07/03/2008) Katydid IDs from Piotr Naskrecki
Hi,
I have been looking at the page with unidentified katydids (Katydids 2), and thought I could help with some ID’s. From top to bottom they are: Amblycorypha sp.

Letter 84 – Pink Katydid in Costa Rica

 

PINK KATYDID?
Location: Costa Rica
March 21, 2012 11:37 pm
Dear Bugman,
I’m used to seeing katydids of various shapes and sizes here in Costa Rica, but they have all been some shade of green. I was taken aback when I saw this pink one on my balcony this morning. Is this a mutant? I put him on my flowers for a photo and noticed him eating the flowers which are also his color. Is this color a result of his diet? Just curious. Thanks.
Signature: Jori

Dear Jori,
Pink is not an uncommon color variation in a North American Katydid, Amblycorypha oblongifolia, which your specimen greatly resembles.  Here is a photo from BugGuide and we have numerous examples in our archive.

Letter 85 – Katydid from South Africa: Cymatomera denticollis

 

Subject: Trichoptera?
Location: sand Forest South Africa
February 20, 2013 5:58 pm
Hello Bugman! I’m finding such a hard time to ID this insect by myself and need a hand. I don’t think this is a neuropteran neither a megalopteran, the very long antennaes confused me and also the size off the bug, too big to be a caddisfly, but could it be a different kind off Trichoptera? apprecite your help!
thanks a lot,the pics are from South Africa
Signature: Barbara Garcia

HI Barbara,
In our opinion, this is a member of the order Orthoptera and the Suborder Ensifera, the Longhorned Orthopterans, which includes Katydids.  Your photo lacks clarity and we haven’t the time to search for a more specific identification at this time.

Hi Daniel and Barbara:
Right you are Daniel. It looks like a Bark Katydid in the genus Cymatomera. It looks very similar to C. denticollis, but according to the ‘Field Guide To Insects of South Africa’  (page 84 and photo 4 on page 85) there are six similar species in the genus. Piotr Naskrecki provides some interesting comments in his photo blog ‘The Smaller Majority’. Regards.  Karl

Thanks Karl,
We depend upon Piotr Naskrecki for many Katydid identifications and we didn’t realize he has a blog.

 

 

Letter 86 – Meadow Katydid

 

Grasshopper with white head and yellow legs
January 19, 2010
I found this grasshopper in a marsh on the boardwalk about 30 miles west of Chicago. He stayed there for about a minute and then jumped off into the weeds. Any ideas? He’s one of the most beautiful grasshoppers I’ve ever seen.
Sam
Wheaton, IL 60187

Hi Sam,
We are late for an appointment right now, and haven’t the time to research this request, though we do have time to post it.  Hopefully, one of our readers will be able to assist.  We have also requested assistance from Eric Eaton.  Your letter did not indicate when the sighting was made, and since there is currently snow in Chicago, we doubt if it was spotted this week.

Sorry; I think it was in July or August if that helps.

Correction courtesy of Eric Eaton
Daniel:
The “grasshopper” is a male meadow katydid in the genus Orchelimum, possibly the black-legged meadow katydid, Orchelimum nigripes, but difficult to be certain.  One needs to see a close-up of the tail end to get a species ID.
Eric

Letter 87 – Katydid from India: Parasanaa donovani

 

Subject:  What’s this bug?
Geographic location of the bug:  Hyderabad, Telangana, India
Date: 09/01/2017
Time: 07:23 AM EDT
Hi Mr Bug Man,
Please identify for us this bug. We found many of them laying on the sidewalk one day during the monsoon season.
How you want your letter signed:  Thanks, Susan

Dear Susan,
Your request has been on our back burner since we received it.  Alas, we have tried unsuccessfully several times to identify this Orthopteran, but it does look familiar to us.  It is quite distinctive looking with its gaudy camouflage markings.  Perhaps one of our readers will have better luck than we have had.

Update:  September 5, 2017
Thanks to Cesar Crash of Insetologia who identified this Katydid as Parasanaa donovani, a species we had in our archives.

Letter 88 – Katydid from New Caledonia

 

new caledonian bug…
March 29, 2010
this was found when a crested gecko dropped it when starteled and absolutally stinks
print
new caledonia

Dear print,
We will contact and expert in Orthopterans, Piotr Naskrecki, to see if he can identify this Katydid.

Piotr Naskrecki responds
Hi Daniel,
The squashed New Caledonian katydid is Pseudophyllanax imperialis, a huge
insect, endemic to the islands. I am impressed that a gecko was able to kill
her (although they do have large geckos on NC.)
Piotr

Ed. Note
Armed with a name, we located the Insect Net Forum that calls this a Coconut Grasshopper, and the Endemia NC website has some photos and a recording of the sound made by the male calling to the female.

Letter 89 – Katydid from Panama is Mimetica crenulata

 

I have been searching for it´s name
Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 2:38 PM
Greetings from Panama!
Dr Alan Jaslow took this picture in the 70s in our Farm in Panama and I need to put a tag with the name on but I am not certain about the name. I got mimet iga ingisa but the ink is fading and is not readible.
Thanks for you help!!!!
Aliss Hartmann
Santa Clara Chiriqui Panama

Hi Arliss,
All we can say for sure is that it is a Katydid. The archival photo that you are trying to classify is quite beautiful. We have recently gotten some help with Katydid identification from Piotr Naskrecki and we will contact him to see if he is able to assist.

Hi Daniel,
I looked at the picture and the accompanying text. The faded label Aliss
mentions spelled “Mimetica incisa.” I believe, however, that the picture
shows a different species, Mimetica crenulata.
Cheers,
Piotr

Letter 90 – Katydid from Panama

 

Subject:  Katydid from Panama
Geographic location of the bug:  Anton Valley, Panama, 600m absl
Date: 09/23/2018
Time: 08:30 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hi, I never found what could be this katydid (even the genus is unknown to me), so any help would be much appreciated ! Thanks in advance 🙂 Frank
How you want your letter signed:  Frank Canon

Dear Frank,
Your images are gorgeous and this Katydid is quite unusual.  The undeveloped wings lead us to believe it is immature, and the apparent lack of an ovipositor indicates it is a male.  We haven’t the time this morning to conduct a thorough identification search, so we are posting your images as unidentified and we will return to this posting this evening.  Meanwhile, perhaps our readership has a moment or two for research.

Letter 91 – Katydid from Peru

 

Peruvian cricket
Location: Rio Pindayo, near Curimana, Ucayali, Peru
February 9, 2011 3:28 am
Can you help me find the identity of this cricket found in central Peru?
Signature: Peter Bruce-Jones

Hi again Peter,
This is not a cricket, but rather, it is a Katydid in the family Tettigoniidae.  Crickets and Katydids are classified together in the suborder Ensifera, the Long Horned Orthopterans.  We often request assistance with exotic Katydid identifications from entomologist Piotr Naskrecki, however, we suspect he is in the field as he did not respond to our recent emails.  We will write to him to see if he recognizes your Katydid.  We can tell you that she is a female as evidenced by her swordlike ovipositor.

Hi Daniel,
Thank you.
On this side of the Atlantic the Tettigoniidae are known as Bush-crickets and the term “katydid” is alien to us, hence my (imprecise) use of “cricket”. I look forward to hearing what your expert makes of it, and will hold back my other similar queries until he is in contact again.
Best regards,
Peter

Piotr Naskrecki Responds
Hi Daniel,
This is a female of Choeroparnops, most likely C. tuberculatus (Tettigoniidae: Pseudophyllinae: Platyphyllini).
Cheers,
Piotr

Thank you Daniel. That was quicker than I expected. I have a few more orthopterans to enquire about; I’ll start with the long-horned ones.
All the best,
Peter

Letter 92 – Katydid from Sri Lanka

 

Alien like Bug
December 31, 2009
I do not know what this is. It is not something I have seen before. It surely resembles to one of those alien creatures in sci–fi films than an earthling.
Appreciate some help to identify this fellow.
Refer below for more info.
http://kirigalpoththa.blogspot.com/2009/11/aliens-in-garden.html
http://picasaweb.google.com/Kirigalpoththa/AliensInTheGarden#
N/A
Colombo, Sri Lanka

Dear N/A,
Other than believing this to be a Longhorned Orthopteran or Katydid, we cannot provide a species or genus.  We are going to contact Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki who has assisted us in the past in the hopes he can provide more information.

Response from Piotr Naskrecki
Hi Daniel,
The insect in the photo is a nymph of Cymatomerini (Pseudophyllinae). The
only genus of this tribe known from Sri Lanka is Sathrophyllia, which of
course does not mean that it cannot be something else (the orthopteran fauna
of Sri Lanka is virtually unknown.)
Cheers,
Piotr

Letter 93 – Katydid Hunter

 

Subject: Bodacious, Beautiful Wasp
Location: Brevard County (Titusville), FL
September 17, 2014 7:01 pm
Hello Big Folks,
We found this big, bodacious, beautiful wasp today (Sept. 17, 2014) while doing landscape work for a client. It’s big, nearly 2″ long and was very docile and tolerant as I hovered around it, mere inches away, taking photos and videos as it walked around on an Indian hawthorn shrub.
Can you tell me what it is? And everything there is to know about it? (<–ok, I realize that may be an unreasonable request, but this guy is awesome!)
Thanks so much, and also, thanks for this wonderful site. There is so much fascinating stuff here!
Signature: LG

Dear LG,
We had thought this would be an easy identification, but we are not having any luck, so we decided to enlist the assistance of Eric Eaton.  Initially we thought that this might be a Thread-Waisted Wasp in the family Sphecidae, but we struck out, though Eremnophila aureonotata on BugGuide does have similar markings on the face.  In the interest of trying to post additional submissions this morning, we are going live with your request, waiting for Eric Eaton to get back to us, and hopefully provide you with an identification soon.  Perhaps some of our readers will have ideas.

Eric Eaton confirms family and gets more specific.
Daniel:
You are correct, this is a katydid hunter wasp, Sphex habenus.  It is not one of the more commonly-photographed species.
Species Sphex habenus – BugGuide.Net
Eric