True Katydids
The term “katydid” originated in North America. When early Americans beheld the raucous ch-ch-ch of Common True Katydids (Pterophylla camellifolia),they were compelled to make the sound part of their folklore. Several tales continue to circulate and our favorite goes like this: There was a woman named Katy who fell in love with a handsome young man, but she was scorned, and the man married another. Soon after, the couple was found dead, poisoned in their beds. No person saw what happened, but perhaps the bugs were watching, and on hot summer nights, they shout from the trees and tell us who-dunnit: katy-did, katy-did, katydid!
The true katydids are an extremely diverse group, with over one thousand species found worldwide. Yet only four species are found in North America, represented by three genera. Of these, the Common True Katydid — the quintessential noisy katydid with which most of us are familiar — is the only wide-ranging species in the East, and the only species covered in this guide.
The Common True Katydid is built like a tank, with cupped wings that give it a formidable appearance. Although they do not bite, they often squawk loudly when handled, puffing themselves up by holding their forewings away from their abdomen. Their fore-wings are well developed, but true katydids are apparently unable to fly, lacking hind-wings. At most, when disturbed, they may leap from a leafy perch and flutter to the ground, where they walk to nearby tree trunks and climb back into the canopy.
Although they spend most of their life high in trees, they often gather in dense choruses during the breeding season, and individuals may sometimes be encountered walking across roads as they move toward noisy congregations. Rarely do males call from shrubs or small trees.
Females lay eggs in crevices in the bark or in soft plant tissue. The eggs hatch in the spring, and the nymphs feed on foliage until they reach adulthood, most never leaving the shelter of the canopy, and possibly the tree in which they were born.
Our Insect Musicians:
Thumbnail Guide to All Species
Navigate to Species Pages:
Spring and Fall Field Cricket
Southern Wood Cricket
Southeastern Field Cricket
Eastern Striped Cricket
Japanese Burrowing Cricket
Ground Crickets (Nemobiinae):
Allard’s Ground Cricket
Carolina Ground Cricket
Confused Ground Cricket
Striped Ground Cricket
Southern Ground Cricket
Sphagnum Ground Cricket
Variegated Ground Cricket
Spotted Ground Cricket
Tinkling Ground Cricket
Cuban Ground Cricket
Tree Crickets (Oecanthinae):
Black-horned Tree Cricket
Forbes’s Tree Cricket
Broad-winged Tree Cricket
Davis’s Tree Cricket
Fast-calling Tree Cricket
Four-spotted Tree Cricket
Narrow-winged Tree Cricket
Pine Tree Cricket
Snowy Tree Cricket
Two-spotted Tree Cricket
Trigs and Bush Crickets (Eneopterinae & Trigonidiinae):
Jumping Bush Cricket
Columbian Trig
Handsome Trig
Say’s Trig
Thomas’s Trig
Slow-tinkling Trig
Mole Crickets (Gryllotalpidae):
Northern Mole Cricket
Southern Mole Cricket
FAMILY DESCRIPTION
Saltmarsh Meadow Katydid
Short-winged Meadow Katydid
Slender Meadow Katydid
Woodland Meadow Katydid
Black-sided Meadow Katydid
Long-tailed Meadow Katydid
Straight-lanced Meadow Katydid
Agile Meadow Katydid
Dusky-faced Meadow Katydid
Stripe-faced Meadow Katydid
Nimble Meadow Katydid
Black-legged Meadow Katydid
Common Meadow Katydid
Gladiator Meadow Katydid
Handsome Meadow Katydid
Lesser Pine Meadow Katydid
Long-spurred Meadow Katydid
Red-headed Meadow Katydid
Coneheads (Copiphorinae):
FAMILY DESCRIPTION
Round-tipped Conehead
Nebraska Conehead
Robust Conehead
Slightly Musical Conehead
Sword-bearing Conehead
False Robust Conehead
Marsh Conehead
Black-nosed Conehead
True Katydids (Pseudophyllinae):
FAMILY DESCRIPTION
Common True Katydid
False Katydids (Phaneropterinae):
FAMILY DESCRIPTION
Clicker Round-winged Katydid
Common Virtuoso Katydid
Rattler Round-winged Katydid
Oblong-winged Katydid
Great Angle-wing
Lesser Angle-wing
Broad-winged Bush Katydid
Curved-tailed Bush Katydid
Fork-tailed Bush Katydid
Northern Bush Katydid
Texas Bush Katydid
Treetop Bush Katydid
Modest Katydid
Shield-backed Katydids (Tettigoniinae):
FAMILY DESCRIPTION
American Shieldback
Least Shieldback
Protean Shieldback
Robust Shieldback
Roesel’s Katydid
Band-winged Grasshoppers (Oedipodinae):
Boll’s & Carolina Grasshoppers
Marsh Meadow Grasshopper