Tuesday, October 6, 2009

The Katydid


(Top) male common meadow katydid (below) female common meadow katydid.
Normal katydids such as the greater angle-winged katydid or common meadow katydid (above) are 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches long. But tropical katydids can grow up to 6 inches long!
I think katydids are one of the most easy insects to tell the gender of. The female will have a horn which is actually called an ovipositor. This can be green or brown short or long curved or straight. It is actually used for depositing eggs not for defense. The male lacks this.

Katydids, just like grasshoppers and crickets, are herbivores and will also usually just eat grass.

Katydids and grasshoppers (probably crickets too) will deposit their eggs in soil.

  • Order: Orthoptera
  • Lifespan: about one year
  • They get their name because: whenever they "sing", you can hear, "ka-ty-did ka-ty-didn't"


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