Thursday, October 6, 2011

While I was birding...

Katydid - Tettigoniidae

Late one recent evening, I heard a Western Screech-Owl outside somewhere in my yard.  I ran out with camera in hand hoping to capture a photo of that darn elusive owl that regularly calls in the yard, but rarely shows itself.  After I had finally given up searching for the owl, I noticed two katydids climbing the brick in our little breeze-way patio.  Those wings resemble leafs so perfectly...it just blows me away.  What a cool critter!

I learned from online resources that the Katydid is more closely related to crickets than to grasshoppers.  The face and legs look pretty grasshopper like, but those extremely long antennae help distinguish it.  They are also known has long-horned grasshoppers.

 Painted Lady Butterfly among the leaf litter.  Check out fuzz in the close-up below.
They sure have an ill-favored face for the the beauty and glory of the wings.

4 comments:

  1. Great finds and some nice close up shots.

    dan

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great shot of both the katydid and the painted lady is beautiful. I hope you get to see that owl soon. Good Luck. Happy birding!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice - a greater anglewing katydid, Microcentrum rhombifolium! Go out at night and you'll hear it "singing" - males give a series of distinctive clicks, as if two pebbles were being tapped together. Birders can hone their ears by learming the calls of the various singing insects!

    ReplyDelete
  4. @Dan @Eileen Thx so much!

    @Jim - Cool! Thanks for the additional information. I need to "listen" more closely.

    ReplyDelete