Common Garden Katydid - Caedicia sp.
Family TETTIGONIIDAE
This page contains pictures and information about the Common Garden Katydids that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
- Male, adult, 40mm
- This Common Garden Katydid look very similar to the Gum Leaf Katydid that we described in the other page. This katydid, as its common implied, can be easily found in Brisbane gardens. The insects are green in colour resemble leaves. On the top of their abdomen there are the pink and yellow pattern covered by their wings.
- Nymph, 30mm
- The nymphs and adults can be found on different plants. They are slow moving. May jump a short distance if disturbed.
Like other katydids, the males produce sound by rubbing their forewings to attach females. Look at the above pictures carefully, we can see a small hole on each of its front leg. They are the organs that the insect used to hear the sound.
Unlike the Gum Leaf Katydids only feed on gum leaves, the Common Garden Katydids feed on different plants including leaves and flowers.
Why some leaves are not green in colour?
Green is the colour of photosynthesis, so most plants are green in colour. However, some plants, especially some young shots are red in colour.
There could be more than one reasons that young leaves are not green in colour. The mismatched colour to expose the camouflaged insects must be one of the important reason. Most leaf eating insects like to feed on the young leaves, and most of them camouflaged in green leaf colour. The mismatched colour makes the insect camouflage not so effective and exposes the insect to its predators.
As the pictures above, if the katydid was not sitting (because it is feeding too) on the young red leaves, it was harder to be seen.
