
14 OCT 2020 | HMP | Handsome Meadow Katydid (female)
The preceding photograph shows a female Handsome Meadow Katydid (Orchelimum pulchellum) perched on the boardwalk that goes through the central wetland area at Huntley Meadows Park (HMP), Fairfax County, Virginia USA.
Blue eyes are a good field mark for identifying Handsome Meadow Katydids. Notice the long, curved, reddish, scimitar-shaped structure extending from the posterior end of the abdomen. It’s an ovipositor that female katydids …
… use to insert eggs into hiding places … which can be in crevices on plants or even inside plant tissues [endophytic oviposition]. Source Credit: Matt Pelikan, BugGuide group on Facebook.
I like the way the reddish-pink American tearthumb (Persicaria sagittata) flowers in the background complement the color palette of the katydid.
Copyright © 2020 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.