Sweet Find

[Shagrath666]

So at least i thought this was cool, last time i saw one i was ten. I think it is a katydid but i am may be wonrg. I was out skateboarding and here in Milwaukee WI we just had some really warm weather and now it is cold again (thats wisconsin for you) so this little guy/girl was in the middle of the road and couldnt fly, now that he/she is warmed up it was a tough time getting it to pose and back into the jar i keep it in. Anyone know what they eat, i want to try to keep it, it would freeze outside.

 

[crpy]

Angular winged katydid, Microcentrum retinerve =awesome

 

[Shagrath666]

Angular winged katydid, Microcentrum retinerve =awesome

sweet, thanks for the ID, i read you should just feed em leaves and friut and stuffs, is that right? how long do they live, this one looks pretty big and i cant imagine they would survive the winter unless they hibernate, it gets really cold up here. i guess what im asking is it an annual insect where nymphs grow to adults in the span of a year, breed and die like some insects?

 

[Shagrath666]

i did some research and found what i could. it is a girl, but they say it is a Florida native, and i found a map of its distribution here http://buzz.ifas.ufl.edu/032a.htm and it says that i shouldn't have found her. she must have done some traveling

 

[crpy]

sweet, thanks for the ID, i read you should just feed em leaves and friut and stuffs, is that right? how long do they live, this one looks pretty big and i cant imagine they would survive the winter unless they hibernate, it gets really cold up here. i guess what im asking is it an annual insect where nymphs grow to adults in the span of a year, breed and die like some insects?

yep the spring to fall thing, willow, it depends geographically, maybe someone will chime in. I fed mine acasia but thats what I find them on.

 

[crpy]

also remember they are not long lived as an adult

 

[cjm1991]

I see them everyday where I live. Orb weavers and birds seem to like them. They also make a terrible sound if you scare them. I thought about using them as feeders for my mantid and other large inverts but decided after hearing that they would be annoying to hear die. But I think they only live a couple months as adults like crpy said. (guessing on amount of months).

 

[Shagrath666]

well, thanks for all the help, even if it only lives a little while, it would have been dead in a matter of hours in the cold, so i can be happy to study it while its around, i also found a sound clip of the mating call and played it for her, she responded by doing it herself, it wa awesome i thought. i thought of feeding it to my Ts but i dont know what pesticides if any it has gotten into, our happy little city has a habit of air raiding w/ pesticides to take care of west nile, i think its just BS like when everyone was afraid of SARS or bird flu. she is really neat though and i at least can get some awesome pics, and who knows she may be gravid (although i doubt it and dont know how to check) and i may get babies

 

[Sooner]

well, thanks for all the help, even if it only lives a little while, it would have been dead in a matter of hours in the cold, so i can be happy to study it while its around, i also found a sound clip of the mating call and played it for her, she responded by doing it herself, it wa awesome i thought. i thought of feeding it to my Ts but i dont know what pesticides if any it has gotten into, our happy little city has a habit of air raiding w/ pesticides to take care of west nile, i think its just BS like when everyone was afraid of SARS or bird flu. she is really neat though and i at least can get some awesome pics, and who knows she may be gravid (although i doubt it and dont know how to check) and i may get babies

Haha, to paraphrase: I found this cool insect, how do I keep it? Actually, maybe I should feed it to one of my vicious predators.

 

[cjm1991]

She may be. I dont advise feeding her to anything sense she isnt even native to your state she may have flown through some pesticides that didnt affect it, but might be enough to kill a T.

 

[bluefrogtat2]

i find them here as well an hour and a half south of milwaukee.
quite often if you look for them
andy

 

[clam1991]

earlier this year i found a bunch only kept 3 though and then i got annoyed by them so i let my cat have em

long story short she had a ball

 

[crpy]

earlier this year i found a bunch only kept 3 though and then i got annoyed by them so i let my cat have em

long story short she had a ball

nice clammy lol

 

[Shagrath666]

Haha, to paraphrase: I found this cool insect, how do I keep it? Actually, maybe I should feed it to one of my vicious predators.

haha exactly!! but i think im going to keep her for a while, her name is Doris. i just love how her wings are identical to leaves, can anyone say camouflage!

 

[crpy]

haha exactly!! but i think im going to keep her for a while, her name is Doris. i just love how her wings are identical to leaves, can anyone say camouflage!

how bout cryptic

 

[blazetown]

I like those leaf phasmids too. Basically just walking leaves. I found some katydids this year too but I gave them to the cobalt.