Katydid

Identification - Phaneroptera falcate, sickle bearing bush cricket.

There is often a lot of confusion when it comes to hoppers, how do you tell the difference between a grasshopper, a cricket, a locust or a katydid.

Grasshoppers and locusts are basically the same and have short, stubby antennae. Locusts are up to 3” long whereas grasshoppers are much smaller. They have large, elongated eyes, as they are daytime bugs. Colours are generally mid-tone greens, greys and light browns, for daytime camouflage. Grasshoppers can fly and are herbivorous.

Crickets have long antennae, about as long as their rear legs, which are very strong looking. Small, spherical eyes. as they are nocturnal. Generally flightless, but there are exceptions. Crickets are omnivorous and predatory. If you buy crickets to feed a gecko, best by plenty, because they will eat each other. Crickets tend to be bright or dark colours. They have a hearing mechanism on their front legs.

Katydids have extremely long antennae and their legs are also extremely long, thin and fragile looking. Small, spherical eyes, as they are nocturnal as adults. They have a hearing mechanism on their front legs, the same as crickets.

Crickets and katydids are closely related and very difficult to always tell the difference. The above is a generalization, but there will be a lot of overlapping. But grasshoppers are distinctly different. Although crickets and katydids are nocturnal, the younger nymphs will be found in the daytime. One of the best ways to tell the difference is from their sound, but I am not going into that here.

Great response to yesterday’s write-up on what to do in a wasp or bee attack. I must emphasize that there are different ideas out there and it is best to have a read for your selves and make a plan.

Dave