fork-tailed bush katydid (Scudderia furcata) female near Hayden Prairie State Preserve IA 653A0775
Summer is on the way out when katydids start to sing so enjoy the warm August weather while it lasts! By the way, only male fork-tailed bush katydids sing, by rubbing their wings together, in order to attract females like this one for mating. Females hear the males singing through their ears that are located on the front tibia. Zoom in and you can see the tympanum there that looks like a little oblong hole in the brown leg section. This female fork-tailed bush katydid uses that pretty pink ovipositor to slip her eggs between the layers of a leaf along its edge where they will spend the winter before hatching out the following spring. Baby bush katydids feed on a variety of plant leaves as they grow, molt and gradually mature through the summer season. This female is not fully grown yet as her wings are still very small.
fork-tailed bush katydid (Scudderia furcata) female near Hayden Prairie State Preserve IA 653A0775
Summer is on the way out when katydids start to sing so enjoy the warm August weather while it lasts! By the way, only male fork-tailed bush katydids sing, by rubbing their wings together, in order to attract females like this one for mating. Females hear the males singing through their ears that are located on the front tibia. Zoom in and you can see the tympanum there that looks like a little oblong hole in the brown leg section. This female fork-tailed bush katydid uses that pretty pink ovipositor to slip her eggs between the layers of a leaf along its edge where they will spend the winter before hatching out the following spring. Baby bush katydids feed on a variety of plant leaves as they grow, molt and gradually mature through the summer season. This female is not fully grown yet as her wings are still very small.