PHOTOGRAPH OF THE DAY! November 2, 2017

I discovered this insect – what I believe to be a Mexican Bush Katydid (Scudderia mexicana) – walking on one of my outdoor buddhas today. I don’t see katydids very often (they are usually effectively camouflaged as leaves) so it was a pleasure to have it patiently allow me to take its portrait along with the Buddha. (The Buddha is always patient.) The “phallus-like” appendage is actually an ovipositor which means this is a female. They lay their eggs in the fall for a spring hatching.

The day after I posted this, National Geographic had a breaking news story about unique newly identified katydids. How often do you see news flashes on katydids? Like never? Synchronicity? These NG katydids are big, they are mean, they are brightly colored and they are monogamous. To see some strange Madagascar relatives of our local katydid: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/11/animals-insects-madagascar-new-species/