Posts Tagged: grasshopper

Katy Did, Katy Didn't!

I've always rather liked katydids. Anyone who is called "Kate" or "Katy" in their childhood usually winds up with "Katydid" as a nickname. And they repeatedly hear "Katy did. Katy didn't" (the sound the insect makes). So when a katydid...

A camouflaged katydid, its body resembling a leaf, feeds on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A camouflaged katydid, its body resembling a leaf, feeds on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The katydid bends to feed on a Tithonia leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The katydid bends to feed on a Tithonia leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up view of a katydid. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up view of a katydid. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The katydid continues to feed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The katydid continues to feed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Buggy New Year!

It's a buggy new year! One of the fascinating things about beginning the new year is the Entomological Society of America's "World of Insects" calendar. Amazing images of insects (and one spider!) jump out at you. One of my favorites is a black soldier...

This photo of a black soldier fly, by Jena Johnson, is "Mr. October" in the ESA calendar. (Photo by Jena Johnson, used with permission)

This photo of a black soldier fly, by Jena Johnson, is "Mr. October" in the ESA calendar. (Photo by Jena Johnson, used with permission)

The ESA calendar cover features this clown grasshopper by Francisco Lopez-Machado of Cali, Colombia. (Photo courtesy of ESA)

The ESA calendar cover features this clown grasshopper by Francisco Lopez-Machado of Cali, Colombia. (Photo courtesy of ESA)

"Mr. December" in the ESA calendar is this image of a flameskimmer dragonfly, taken by Kathy Keatley Garvey of UC Davis.

"Mr. December" in the ESA calendar is this image of a flameskimmer dragonfly, taken by Kathy Keatley Garvey of UC Davis.

Hop to It!

What's that hopping on our patio? At first we thought it was a grasshopper. Not! It was a katydid, sometimes called a "long-horned grasshopper," from the family Tettigoniidae (as identified by Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of...

A katydid, or "long-horned grasshopper," from family Tettigonliidae. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A katydid, or "long-horned grasshopper," from family Tettigonliidae. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

It Pays to Be a Relative

Plants communicate. They do. Ecologist Richard Karban, a professor in the UC Davis Department of Entomology, points out that one of the simplest forms of communication involves shade. When a plant is shaded, it grows away from the plant or other object...

Grasshopper feeding on sagebrush. (Photo courtesy of Rick Karban)

Grasshopper feeding on sagebrush. (Photo courtesy of Rick Karban)

Rick Karban collecting volatile (chemical) cues.

Rick Karban collecting volatile (chemical) cues.

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