Mating Differential Grasshoppers, Melanoplus differentialis (Iowa, USA).
Grasshopper nymph from Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Well-camouflaged grasshopper nymph from Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Cryptic grasshopper nymph from Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Freshly-molted grasshopper nymph from Monteverde, Costa Rica.
Red-legged Grasshopper, Melanoplus femurrubrum (Iowa, USA). The combination of reds, yellows, and greens on this hopper provides excellent camouflage against the changing autumn foliage.
A grasshopper nymph demonstrates superb camouflage in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Tree cricket courtship feeding - genus Oecanthus, either O. nigricornis or O. forbesi (Iowa, USA). Once a male has attracted a mate by serenading her, he lifts up his wings and entices her with his thoracic secretions. The enthusiastic female mounts him and chows down on his nutritious gland-fluids while he maneuvers into position. Once mating is accomplished, he often stays and continues to sing and feed her in order to prevent her from eating his spermatophore before she is successfully inseminated.
Finding this rare pink round-winged katydid (Orophus sp.) in Costa Rica was an exciting first! While one might expect that pink coloration is a recessive trait, as most katydids are some shade of green, crossbreeding experiments have revealed that pink is actually a dominant allele. This helps to explain why pink morphs persist in the population despite being more conspicuous to predators.
Portrait of a Phaneropterine katydid, tribe Holochlorini, from Chiang Mai, Thailand.
A well-camouflaged katydid (family Tettigoniidae) sits on a leaf in Chaing Mai, Thailand.
Black-kneed Meadow Katydid nymph, Conocephalus melaenus (Chiang Mai, Thailand).
A male lesser meadow katydid (Conocephalinae: genus Conocephalus) cleans his hind leg. (Iowa, USA)
Round-tipped Conehead Katydid, Neoconocephalus retusus, female (Iowa, USA). The impressive bayonet-like ovipositor, or egg-laying apparatus, is used to slice through plant material in order to lay its eggs.
True Leaf Katydid - tribe Pterochrozini, genus Mimetica. (Belize)
Round-headed Katydid, genus Amblycorypha (Iowa, USA).
Scudder's Bush Katydid nymph (Tettigoniidae: Scudderia) from Iowa, USA.
Super-elongated katydid nymph (Tettigoniidae) from Belize.
Roesel's Katydid nymph (Tettigoniidae: Tettigoniinae, Metrioptera roeselii) from Iowa. Members of this subfamily are also called 'shield-backed katydids' thanks to their unique pronota.
Large katydids (Tettigoniidae) were a common sight in Costa Rica. These robust herbivores don't take kindly to being handled and can deliver a surprisingly strong pinch with their powerful mandibles.
Raspy Cricket, Gryllacrididae, from Monteverde, Costa Rica. This chubby little fellow might look cute, but these omnivorous crickets are frequent predators of insects and other small arthropods.
A brightly-colored aggregation of grasshoppers from Monteverde, Costa Rica. Their attention-grabbing coloration is likely a warning of their toxicity.
A brightly-colored grasshopper from Monteverde, Costa Rica. Their attention-grabbing coloration is likely a warning of their toxicity.
