CLOSED: Katydid?

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azrobin Scottsdale, AZ(Zone 9b) Oct 26, 2006

I couldn't detect a face on this bugger. But then, I couldn't get close enough - my sprinklers were on. He sure is big.

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azrobin Scottsdale, AZ(Zone 9b) Oct 26, 2006

Photo 2 of 2

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Magpye NW Qtr, AR(Zone 6a) Oct 26, 2006

Another one of those 'living' leaves!

A Katydid, for sure .. and one of a very large family of katydid 'kin'. (hee)

There's a slew of those guys & gals listed on the BugGuide, here > http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=katydid&search=Search

- Magpye

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azrobin Scottsdale, AZ(Zone 9b) Oct 26, 2006

Thanks Magpye! I had a different species of Katydid a few weeks ago - nothing like this one but I had a feeling. Big bugger! Beneficial or Foe?

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Magpye NW Qtr, AR(Zone 6a) Oct 26, 2006

These guys we have here .. do feed on the leaves on trees, and generally prefer to stick to the tops of the trees. But, I've witnessed them take a nibble of the Zinnia flower petals and leaves. I'm sure that many folks determine they are a gardeners 'foe'.

Below, is an excerpt from > http://www.hortsource.com/commoninsectsh-k.htm

Quoting:
Katydids, related to grasshoppers, are some of the most common insects known and can be found throughout most of the United States, but they are rare in the northernmost states. Arboreal in habit, they are seldom found on the ground. Katydids blend well within their host plants, their green bodies provide excellent camouflage and their wings often look like leaves. The males are those that do the singing by rubbing their front wings together, and each species has a characteristic song. Generally not much damage is caused by the katydid, their feeding damage is often limited to chewed out semi-circular holes along the leaf margins, but they have been known to defoliate young citrus trees and other ornamental plants. Control is generally not necessary.

Another excerpt, from > http://www.whatsthatbug.com/katy.html
Quoting:
Katydids eat foliage from many trees and shrubs. In our Mt. Washington garden, they are plentiful now and have a fondness for chewing rose petals and buds, which doesn't make us happy. We don't kill them as we love Katydids, but we shoo them off of our rose bushes with a hose. Usually they fly into the pine trees and return to the roses the next day. Temperature wise, they will survive the cooler winter temperatures, but they have a life expectancy of less than a year.


However, I've not anihilated any of the katydids we find here. Think their relatively short life-span takes care of the matter. Besides, chipmunks luv feeding on the katydids and the more horrid toll-taking grasshoppers!

Hope the info will lend a bit of aid/insight to ya, azrobin.

- Magpye

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azrobin Scottsdale, AZ(Zone 9b) Oct 26, 2006

Thanks a bunch, Magpye! I checked this morning and he's gone from the wall. I hope I don't find him chewing on one of my roses or dwarf pomogranite! I've recently noticed a few large grasshoppers in my yard. Usually not on the plants but on my patio. I normally don't see grasshoppers. We generally have crickets but where I am in North Scottsdale the scorpions eat them. Rarely do I hear crickets since I moved farther north a few years ago.

I've seen you comment in many of the forums. You're a wealth of information!

Happy Gardening,

Robin

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Magpye NW Qtr, AR(Zone 6a) Oct 26, 2006

((thanks, Robin))
.. Tis mitey sweet of you ..

((huggs))

- Magpye

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White_Hydrangea Aurora, CO(Zone 5a) Nov 06, 2006

That looks exactly like a bug I saw on my patio this summer, only yours is a much better picture than I could get. It was really weird to see a leaf walking across my patio.

They're probably all over the place, but if they stand still, they disappear.

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pheitmeyer Mesa, AZ(Zone 9b) Nov 06, 2006

Wow that one is gigantic.

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