Shieldbacked katydids

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Sat Jun 30, 2007 11:11 pm

I thought you might like these pictures, but I can't tell you much about the subjects.

There were lots of these things on certain flowerheads today, by the side of a very dry hiking trail that goes up a nearby hill.

I do not know these insects. The best I can tell is that they are probably "Shieldbacked Katydids", subfamily Decticinae of family Tettigoniidae in the Orthoptera. They appear similar to what BugGuide.net indexes as genus Pediodectes.

I shot several pictures of these things, but I was particularly struck (interested? amused? ) by the antennae in these two. Apparently I caught the first one in mid-whip, and goodness knows what the second one was doing!

--Rik

Technical: Canon SD700 IS auto-everything. The jpg files report f/5.6 at 1/200 and 1/640 second. The first image, but not the second, has had some additional blurring of the background to improve bokeh and noise.

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 3:34 am

Rik wrote:

Apparently I caught the first one in mid-whip, and goodness knows what the second one was doing!

Well what ever it is doing, it appears as though the little thing is casting a pretty open loop. Maybe a faster antennae would be in order to tighten things up a bit. However for my self, I rarely ever cast a closed tight loop. The first reminds me more of a cricket than a "did" but what do I know 'bout bugs?

Anyway some really good shots there Rik.

I have noticed a big improvment in high res shots around here of late. It might behove me to get off my hind quarters and work on improving my own.

Well a couple of cups of coffee and I am off to the mountains for a while. I can see daylight starting to show through the window.

beetleman · Post by **beetleman** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 6:59 am

Boy, that camera is doing a great job in macro mode. Everything around the creature blends very well with him.

MacroLuv · Post by **MacroLuv** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 10:29 am

Nice backgrounds Rik.

Seems the second one has short wings and the first one ovipositor. I was finding regulary similar kinds of long horned hoppers (Katydids / bush crickets) during my vacations hiking.
The diet of tettigoniids includes leaves, flowers, bark, and seeds, but many species are exclusively predatory, feeding on other insects, snails or even small vertebrates such as snakes and lizards. - Wikipedia
The flowers are dry, so I bet on small insects in case of #2 pic. (Or seed, who knows.)

Mike B in OKlahoma · Post by **Mike B in OKlahoma** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 11:23 am

Very nice, I recognize the flower heads in the first shot from my time up your way!

I don't know enough of these to help with the ID, but I agree that #1 looks female and #2 probably male.

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 9:13 am

The flowerheads are Common Yarrow, Achillea millefolium. These plants are very dry compared to how they usually get photographed. Actually they seem very dry, period. I'll check more closely next time I'm up there. It's possible that these particular plants missed setting seed this year, or came very close to it. In the pictures, I think I see a few little parachutes, but only a few.

--Rik