A Katydid!

It was a tricky photo, but I did it! The spider was about to enwrap its prey. They were dangling from the Catalpa tree! This is the season for them for mating and babies. They are everywhere in the night.  You can hear them making their Katydid mating noises (listen in the video below). Sadly, Dorah quite likes them. She brought four in last year.

 True story...
The cat door is propped open until Daisy gets her mind around using the flap. Somehow, a katydid got into the Muskoka Room. The screen door was in place leading into our bedroom, and it was stuck in the room, unable to get out. There was another one circling around, trying to get at it's mate, I presume. I could hear it making its noises and flying about.

I captured the one in the Muskoka room. It was missing a back right leg. They can fly, so it's not too much of a problem. (I do blame Dorah.) I let it go, just putting outside through the cat door. The silly thing landed on the door a few minutes later, and was making its noise again. SIGH.

Adult Katydid

 We continued reading. Hubby fell asleep. I was facing the door, and spotted Dorah bringing in another Katydid. She set it down carefully on the carpet in the doorway. I picked it up, and looked at it. Sure enough, missing its back right leg. I took it outside and threw it over the deck railing. The next morning I found it dead on the deck.

These are nymphs, as they do not have wings.
As I was doing the lawn on the tractor, one flew onto my arm. They are adorable!

 

This is the one from the Muskoka Room! Tricky photographing it in the dark!

Insects in the cricket family Tettigoniidae are commonly called katydids or bush crickets. More than 6,400 species are known. You can watch it make its sounds, as I held the camera, and the flashlight!

Katydid from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.
They have three stages of development: egg, nymph and adult. The egg is laid in the fall, on plants or in the soil, and I hatch in the spring. They shed their skin (molt) to grow. As an adult they have developed wings. Their lifespan is about one year from egg to the end of adulthood.

Classification

Order Orthoptera (Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids)

Suborder Ensifera (Long-horned Orthoptera)

Infraorder Tettigoniidea (Katydids, Camel Crickets, and relatives)

Family Tettigoniidae (Katydids)