The Katydid Nymph Did

The katydid nymph did.

It did appear in May.

The UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program (UC IPM) tells us that katydid nymphs appear in our gardens in April or May.

This little nymph was right on time, barely, as it surfaced in our Vacaville garden on May 28.

The nymph, a leafeater, is usually so camouflaged in the vegetation that we don't see it--unless it's  hanging out on a California golden poppy blossom or a neon pink rock purslane. The adult katydid can be an economic pest when it feeds on such crops as mandarins.

Frankly, it can look quite comical as it "walks the walk,"  its long threadlike antennae probing the way as it descends a stem in the early evening.