Invertebrates
Katydid
Tettigoniidae · also called bush cricket
After dark in a summer forest, a chorus of katydids fills the air with rasping calls, each singer hidden in plain sight among real leaves its own wings have been shaped and veined to imitate almost perfectly.
Overview
The katydid, family Tettigoniidae, is a large, nearly worldwide group of leaf-mimicking insects found in forest and grassland habitat on every continent except Antarctica. Its remarkably convincing leaf-shaped camouflage and unusual leg-based hearing make it one of the more visually and anatomically distinctive members of the insect order that also includes grasshoppers and crickets.
Camouflage detailed enough to fool a predator
A katydid doesn’t just happen to be green — its wings are shaped, veined, and sometimes even notched to mimic real leaf damage, a level of botanical mimicry that turns a stationary katydid into something a predator can walk right past without noticing.
Status
Least Concern — extremely widespread and abundant across suitable forest and grassland habitat worldwide.
Katydid: common questions
How does a katydid's leaf-like camouflage work?
A katydid's folded forewings often closely resemble an actual leaf, complete with vein-like patterns and, in some tropical species, edges that mimic the ragged look of insect feeding damage, a level of camouflage detailed enough to make a stationary katydid genuinely difficult for a predator to distinguish from real foliage.
Where are a katydid's ears located?
A katydid's hearing organs are located on its front legs rather than on its head, an unusual placement shared with crickets, and this leg-based hearing still allows the insect to detect and respond to the calls of other katydids nearby.
How is a katydid different from a grasshopper?
A katydid has notably long, thread-like antennae often longer than its own body, is primarily active at night, and produces sound by rubbing its two forewings together, while a grasshopper has much shorter antennae, is active mainly by day, and produces sound by scraping its hind leg against its wing, differences that together make the two easy to tell apart once known.
When are katydids most active?
A katydid is primarily nocturnal, becoming most vocally active after dark, when males produce their distinctive songs to attract females, making a katydid far more likely to be heard calling at night than actually seen during the day.