Tag: oblong-winged katydid

Favorite Insect Photographs of 2021

This is the time to look back at the highlights of the past year and look forward to upcoming adventures. In that vein, here are some of my favorite insect photographs from 2021.

Butterflies like this hairstreak are always such prima donnas.

 

 

Okay, so my favorites aren’t all photographs. These queen butterflies tell off the intruder by flapping their wings.

 

Roses always look even more lovely with a katydid decoration.

 

My neighbor was so excited when the praying mantis egg cases she had purchased began hatching that she called me over to watch. It was pretty amazing to see all the little nymphs. Later I found this one in our yard.

 

Yep, another video. In this one I caught a honey bee using her legs to pat pollen into her already pretty full pollen baskets. The plant is jojoba.

 

I took this photograph on January 14, 2021, which seems pretty early in the season for bees. Maybe the early bee gets the pollen?

Hope you enjoyed these. Thank you so much for following Growing with Science in 2021. I really appreciate everyone who took time to comment and for your support.

Happy New Year!

 

 

Bug of the Week: Katydids and Hollyhocks

It’s hollyhock season again.

Some plants just have flower buds.

Others are flowering.

Once again, having a certain kind of plant means having a certain kind of insect.

In this case, the insects are oblong-winged katydid nymphs.

Wow, those antennae are so long.

I checked, and I had found the same kind of katydid nymphs on May 1, 2013. They were also on hollyhocks.

I only have a few hollyhock plants in my yard, and I’m pretty sure none of my immediate neighbors have them. I wonder how the katydids even find them, let alone show up with such regularity.

I guess if you eat mainly hollyhocks, you’re probably pretty great at finding them.

Bug of the Week: Finding Katydids

Things have been crazy here the last few weeks, but I finally had a chance to do some photography again.

little-brown-katydid-101

Looking at the hollyhocks in the back yard, I spotted this beige bug. I can tell from the long antennae and shape that it is a katydid nymph.

two-katydids

It took a bit longer, but then I noticed something else. Do you see it?

second-green-katydid

See it now? There is a second green katydid nymph on the same plant.

Wondering what is up with the different colors?

The oblong-winged katydid is known for being highly variable in color. It ranges from green to tan to orange-yellow to even bright pink! Now that would be something to see.

another-green-katydid

Once I started checking more closely, I found yet another green katydid. I guess that shows that camouflage colors might be harder to detect.

Aren’t those long hind legs something else?

Have you ever seen a katydid? What color was it?