A very unusual find.

[Jmugleston]

So this is the ultimate in mixed feelings. I've been a lizard fan since I was little. Anyone that has been in the field with me knows that lizards are a high priority for me. I even studied reptiles while I was an undergraduate student. Now in graduate school I study katydids. Imagine my surprise when I came across the following. I was stoked to see something like this, but did it have to be a lizard?

 

[thebugfreak]

i thought katydids were strictly herbivores. guess i was wrong.

 

[Jmugleston]

i thought katydids were strictly herbivores. guess i was wrong.

Some groups are for the most part (generalization with exceptions!) herbivorous though they'll sometimes scavenge if the opportunity presents itself (most Phaneropterinae, Pseudophyllinae, Mecopodinae, and a few others). Other groups are more omnivorous (Tettigoniinae, Conocephalinae, Hetrodinae) and will eat whatever is abundant or in their way in the case of banding Mormon crickets (actually katydids). Some are primarily carnivorous as displayed by the conocephaline in the photo and seen in groups such as Meconomatinae, Saginae, and others.

This species was known to be carnivorous and if it were eating a roach I would not have been as surprised but to see it eating an anole was a bit of a shock.

 

[thebugfreak]

but that is crazy... i would hate to be eaten by a katydid. but the fact that i thought it only eats plants, but then discovering it that it eats meat by looking at this picture disturbs me. haha.

 

[hassman789]

That's really cool. At first I thought it was some sort of wierd lizard with wings! I had to look at it twice.