#tettigoniidae
Lichen Katydid - Markia hystrix
Katydids comprise a diverse group of insects particularly well adapted to survival in rainforest because of their exceptional camouflage. Most katydids are well camouflaged with brown or leaflike green markings.
The Lichen Katydid, Markia hystrix (Orthoptera - Tettigoniidae), however, has one of the most incredible camouflages of all. It resembles the pale greenish-white lichens on which it lives in rainforest treetops. Not only does the color match the lichens, but the body and legs have a bizarre assortment of spines and points that blend well with lichens, in fact, so well that this insect is extremely difficult for predator to find.
This astonishing insect is known to occur in Central America (Costa Rica, Panama), Colombia and Ecuador.
Photo credits: [Top: ©Holguer Lopez | Locality: not indicated, 2013] - [Bottom: ©Robert Oelman | Locality: Colombia-Ecuador, 2007]
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There’s something on my knee……
Giant False Leaf Katydid (Pseudophyllus titan, Pseudophyllinae, Tettigoniidae)
If you have ever travelled or lived in China, you quickly observe that crowds form at the drop of a hat, whether it be to watch a game of chequers, minor domestic arguments, traffic accidents…and for foreigners. This happens in the big cities as much as it does in the more remote provinces, but when you are one of just a handful of 外国人(foreigners) in a third- or fourth-tier Chinese city and you are wielding a big camera with a flash diffuser AND you have China’s largest Orthopteran, P.titan (which very few Chinese people would be even aware exists), performing a threat display on your knee in the local park, the exponentially growing band of onlookers stands and stares in silent and, I will admit, unsettling curiosity.
So picture, if you will, the unseen scene in this image. I politely indicated that the crowd move aside so that I didn’t have them in the background of this shot. Behind and to the sides of me however, is a throng maybe two or three deep slowly creeping closer and closer as new arrivals at the rear of the pack push and strain to see what the commotion is.
I should have put my hat on the ground and collected some change…..
See more images of Pseudophyllus titan in my Flickr photostream HERE.
byitchydogimages on Flickr.
Pu'er, Yunnan, China
See more images from China on my Flickr site HERE…..
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Greater Anglewing Katydid (Microcentrum rhombifolium)
Everyone seems to really like seeing insects cleaning themselves, so here’s this fellow cleaning his back leg.
That dexterity!
