New garden mascot

[Lisa0825]

This little guy appeared on a corn leaf about 4 days ago. He was TINY!!! I mean not even a quarter of an inch long. I am actually shocked that I saw him. He sat there and looked right at me. He didn't flinch as I inspected the leaves around him, looking for (other) bugs, flower buds, etc. I thought he was adorable! I wasn't sure what exactly he was so I went online and looked at bug identifiers. I think he is a baby Katydid.



Every day that I have been checking my garden, there he is on the same leaf, and he just sits there and looks at me. I think he has tripled in size already from the first day I saw him. I wish my camera had macro capabilities!





I think he's adorable... I just hope he doesn't grow up to devour my garden.

[asdjrocky]

1. Are you on the East Coast?

I've heard of Katydids out there.

[Lisa0825]

2. No, I am on the Texas Gulf Coast. nt

[asdjrocky]

3. Then I have no clue.

If he gets any bigger, I'd keep your pets and children away from that thing though. (Just kidding.) Good looking corn leaf by the way.

[Lisa0825]

4. Why? Are Katydids only in certain areas?nt

[asdjrocky]

5. It's my understanding,

and I could very well be completely wrong, that they only come every so many years, and only to the east coast.

Again, I'm just running of an old memory from more than a few years ago. You'll undoubtedly do better with your own research than listening to me.

[Lisa0825]

6. Oh, I think those are cicadas.

They are related species, but I think Katydids are more closely related to grasshoppers.

Here are pics of Katydids. There are so many that I haven't been able to figure out which one mine might be. The shape of the legs and the striped antennae match the spiny ones, but maybe he just hasn't developed the spines yet.

Oops.... forgot to add link...

http://bugguide.net/node/view/164/bgpage

[asdjrocky]

7. You are so right.

Cool bug as long as he doesn't start munchin'.

[Lisa0825]

8. I like him because he seems to find me as interesting as I find him! LOL

Kinda sad that the male most fascinated by me has an exoskeleton! :rofl:

[asdjrocky]

9. I know the feeling,

I'm pretty sure my praying mantis Constantine is a girl, and I'm certain she thinks I'm hot.

Though, true to form for me, I haven't see her around much lately.

[Lisa0825]

10. LOL! She's a cutie pie!

I'm sure she's still around... just hard to see. Be careful though... she IS a predator, after all!

[asdjrocky]

11. Aren't they all?

[Lisa0825]

12. Hey now...

Are you talking about the mantis or all females? LOL! Not all species kill after mating! :rofl:

[asdjrocky]

13. No, instead of some of them taking your whole head...

They just take half. :rofl:

[NJCher]

14. I saw one yesterday!

And thought of your praying mantis.

BTW, thanks to the OP for putting this up because I have been seeing these in my NJ garden. I am so relieved because at first I thought they were grasshoppers and now I realize they are cicadas. Whew!!



Cher

[asdjrocky]

15. Exactly, my first thought was it looks like a grasshopper.

I did see one in my garden, a grasshopper I mean, but he seemed to be just passing through.

[Gato Moteado]

18. the insect in the photo is definitely not a cicada

it looks like a young grasshopper, katydid or cricket of some kind.

it's definitely not a cicada.

[madeline_con]

19. I thought Katydid was a nickname for cicadas. n/t

[Lisa0825]

20. No, not the same.

According to the taxonomy, they share the same phylum and class, but are in different orders. Cicadas are in Order Hemiptera, and Katydids are in Order Orthoptera.

BugGuide.com is a fun site to browse. http://bugguide.net/node/view/73/bgpage

[Blue Gardener]

16. I think you were right with Katydid

That doesn't look like any cicada I've ever seen. Look them both up and see what you think.

[Lisa0825]

17. Here's a great shot of a Katydid Nymph!

http://slbrownphoto.com/go-invert/slides/katydidnymph07967.html