Katydid Facts

Katydid Facts
Order: OrthopteraCommon Name--Katydids (related to grasshoppers and crickets)
Katydids get their name from the way their songs sound. Some katydids have been called long-horned grasshoppers because of their long and slender shape. However, all katydids are more similar and related to crickets than grasshoppers. One of the things that makes them different from their relatives is their antennae which may be two or three times the length of their body. These antennae are covered with sensory receptors that allow katydids to find their way around in the dark, when most of them are active.
Photo courtesy of the Arthropod Zoo
Crickets and katydids create sounds by rubbing a scraper on one forewing against a file on the other front wing. The hearing organ of crickets and katydids is located inside a slit on their front legs.
Being discovered often means death for insects. Katydids are eagerly sought by sharp-eyed and hungry predators, from bats and birds to snakes and shrews. To avoid becoming another creature's meal, katydids have had to evolve cunning and devious ways to hide. Few other groups in the insect world have as wide a range of survival tactics as katydids. Katydids do everything from posing as remarkably life-like leaves to mimicking other insects in their attempts to make it through the day without being eaten. Check out The Wild Ones website to see some excellent pictures of katydid camouflage! Remember, you'll have to hit your "Back" button to return to this page!
There are some 4,000 species of katydids in the world. Nowhere else does a greater variety of them exist than in the rain forests of the Amazon. About 2,000 katydid species can be found there! Katydids are an important part of the Amazonian rain-forest community. They feed on the leaves, stems, flowers and fruits of a variety of plants. They also form an important part of the diet of many animals higher up in the food chain, especially monkeys, birds and bats.
HabitatsMost Orthoptera, or katydids, crickets and grasshoppers, are found in grassland areas because of the types of plants found in open fields. Many species of crickets and katydids that feed on trees are found in forests.
Life CycleKatydids have incomplete metamorphosis (egg-nymph-adult). Katydids lay their eggs in many places including the soil, in stems of plants, and in bark of trees. Nymphs are very similar to the adults, except they are smaller and lack fully developed wings. The nymph goes through several molts (generally five), gradually developing into an adult.