| Caedicia simplex | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Orthoptera |
| Suborder: | Ensifera |
| Family: | Tettigoniidae |
| Subfamily: | Phaneropterinae |
| Genus: | Caedicia |
| Species: | C. simplex |
| Binomial name | |
| Caedicia simplex Walker, 1869 | |
Caedicia simplex is a species of bush cricket or katydid, native to New Zealand and Australia. A common name is the "common garden katydid".
Species found in the family Tettigoniidae are differentiated from other ensifera by the presence of forewings that can be held away from the body modified to help with both leaf mimicry and acoustics, as well as the female ovipositor. [1] Generally speaking, katydids have extremely long antennae in proportion to their body size, as well as a body that is cylindrical or laterally compressed with 3 sets of long, spindly legs that are used for long-distance jumping. Among all katydids, Caedicia simplex is considered an unremarkable species in appearance. The common garden katydid strongly resembles a small leaf in appearance with a grass-like, green coloration, measuring at about 4–6 cm as an adult. In the nymph stage, however, C. simplex are sometimes a vibrant red-pink color, lacking the leaf-like appearance of their adult counterparts. [2] Caedicia simplex has a distinctly small, oval head with a velvety green appearance and bright, orange-red eyes. The velvety pronotum on common garden katydids are distinctly keeled, marked with a yellow stripe, having an anterior notched margin and a rounded posterior. [3]
Caedicia simplex is a native insect to New Zealand and Australia. Their habitat is limited to that of New Zealand [3] and Australia. [4] While they are not Caedicia simplex it is worth noting that other species of katydid in the shared family of Tettigoniidae are present on all other continents excluding Antarctica. [1]
In the original description of Caedicia simplex and analysis of their distribution throughout New Zealand Walker stated that they were abundant throughout the whole of the North Island going so far south as Greymouth, NZ. [3] Today katydids remain throughout roughly those same regions of both the North and South Islands.
Due to the massive distribution of family Tettigoniidae species the habitats can vary highly from nation to nation. Within the context of New Zealand, it is immensely common in-home gardens hence its common name as well as more forested areas. [5] The katydid usually stays near vegetation such as shrubs and plants so that it is able to properly camouflage itself as well as maintain a source of close food/nutrients. [5] Since they are nocturnal katydids usually only move about their vegetation habitats in the night time as this allows for the highest chance of safety and food collection. [2]
The life cycle of a katydid takes place over the course of about one year. [6] The mating period for these insects is usually in the rainy season in this part of the world. [2] Katydids engage in polygamous relationships, meaning they have more than one mate in their lifetime. [7] Males begin the mating process by rubbing their wings together making the signature ‘katydid’ noise to attract a female mate. [2] The louder this noise is the more a female will be able to ascertain the fitness of the male, which then decides who she mates with. [7] A female will always choose a male with a larger spermatophore. [8] During their encounter, the male deposits the spermatozoa into the female. [7] Then the female uses her ovipositor to lay her eggs in the ground or stem of a nearby plant. [2] From the egg, a nymph or juvenile katydid is born. Nymphs lacking the size, wings, and full green color of their adult counterparts must undergo numerous molts in order to reach maturity. Approximately two to three months after birth nymphs will enter their final molt, which results in the growth of wings and a realization of their full size. [2] Full adulthood does not occur until late in the one year life of the katydid so their mating period is what becomes essential as soon as the final molt has finished. Adult katydids, after mating in the autumn months, usually die off as the colder portion of the year settles in while their eggs are waiting for spring, repeating the life cycle. [9] These eggs are the only stage in the katydid's phenology that can withstand the winter months as they stay where they were laid until warmer spring months. [2]
It is a common misconception that katydids and other Orthopterans produce sounds by rubbing their legs together. In contrast, males produce the sound to attract females by rubbing its stridulatory file, which is on the underside of the left tegmen, against a raised vein on the underside of the right tegmen, [2] similar to the movement of running a fingernail along a comb. Females in the family Phaneropterinae are unique in the fact that many are able to respond to the male calls by rubbing spines or pegs on their hind wings on veins on the tegmen, but this subject remains largely unstudied. [2]
While the subject of creating sounds is difficult to study in katydids, the subject of hearing is the most widely studied and complex component of katydid biology. [2] The auditory system is highly evolved in katydids, as the neural network receives information from two external sources. The first, a pair of tympanic organs, each comprised to two tympanic membranes, or eardrums, are situated on the tibia of each foreleg on the katydid. [10] The second source of auditory signals comes from auditory trachea, which are evolved from their original respiratory functions, located on the thorax. [10] The physiology of the auditory interneurons of C. simplex has been thoroughly studied and examined by Oldfield and Hill, [11] but requires a high knowledge of Orthoptera auditory physiology to examine.
Katydids and other species in Orthoptera are an important component of many vertebrate diets, such as frogs, lizards, bats, and birds, [2] but the coloration and camouflage that C. simplex has developed and evolved to have, like many species of katydid, put them at an advantage to predators. In addition to vertebrate predators, insects that have been known to hunt and subdue katydids include tachinid flies (family Tachinidae), [12] digger wasps (family Sphecidae), spiders, some species of ants, and many predatory insects that are larger than katydids. [2] Large predatory insects, however, are more of an issue for Australian C. simplex residents, while New Zealand residents have a tougher time with birds. While the camouflage puts katydids at somewhat of an advantage in some respects for predation, Lysaght [13] describes C. simplex as a “sluggish insect”, relying primarily on their appearance to stay hidden from predators.
Gordian worms, or horsehair worms (phylum Nematomorpha) [12] are very commonly found in the abdomen of many katydids as an internal parasite. [2] Gordian worms are a common parasite known for manipulating its host via behavioral alteration, and in the species of one katydid, it was found that this was accomplished by the molecular mimicry of host proteins, which were linked to neurotransmitter release. [14] In the case of many katydids, the parasite did not directly affect an individual's physiology nor wellbeing, only manipulating the behavior of the katydid at the end of the worm's life cycle, when it “directs the host to water”, where the worm emerges for a “mating frenzy”. [2]
Species found in Tettigoniidae have a wide variety of foraging methods and diets, such as feeding on dead carcasses or other insects, feeding on pollen, and most commonly, foraging on plants. [2] C. simplex, as well as other species in the subfamily Phaneropterinae, have been observed specifically foraging on plants, but their diet contains a wide variety of such. Primary host plants in New Zealand that have been observed are peach trees, pines, eucalypts, roses, and acacias, [3] and three indigenous species, mahoe, beech trees in the genera Nothofagus , and manuka. [13] Additionally, species in Phaneropterinae have been observed to prefer plants with higher protein content such as flowering species and the flowers themselves, but many are completely capable of developing at a normal rate while only consuming the green leafy matter from plants. [2] While the common garden katydid has the capability to make a sizable impact on gardens, they are not considered an economic threat nor pest. [3]
Insects in the family Tettigoniidae are commonly called katydids or bush crickets. They have previously been known as "long-horned grasshoppers". More than 8,000 species are known. Part of the suborder Ensifera, the Tettigoniidae are the only extant (living) family in the superfamily Tettigonioidea.
Orthoptera is an order of insects that comprises the grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets, including closely related insects, such as the bush crickets or katydids and wētā. The order is subdivided into two suborders: Caelifera – grasshoppers, locusts, and close relatives; and Ensifera – crickets and close relatives.
The Carolina mantis is a species of praying mantis of the subfamily Stagmomantinae.
The Mormon cricket is a large insect native to western North America in rangelands dominated by sagebrush and forbs. Anabrus is a genus in the shield-backed katydid subfamily in the Tettigoniidae family, commonly called katydids, bush crickets, and previously "long-horned grasshoppers". Its common name, "Mormon cricket", is a misnomer: true crickets are of the family Gryllidae.
Ensifera is a suborder of insects that includes the various types of crickets and their allies including: true crickets, camel crickets, bush crickets or katydids, grigs, weta and Cooloola monsters. This and the suborder Caelifera make up the order Orthoptera. Ensifera is believed to be a more ancient group than Caelifera, with its origins in the Carboniferous period, the split having occurred at the end of the Permian period. Unlike the Caelifera, the Ensifera contain numerous members that are partially carnivorous, feeding on other insects, as well as plants.
The speckled bush-cricket is a flightless species of bush-cricket belonging to the family Tettigoniidae. The species was originally described as Locusta punctatissima in 1792.
Meconema thalassinum is an insect in the family Tettigoniidae known as the oak bush-cricket and drumming katydid. It is native to Europe, including the British Isles, and was introduced to the United States, first established in the west of Long Island and extending its range to Rhode Island and Scarsdale, Stony Brook, and Ithaca, New York.
The chorus cicada, Amphipsalta zelandica, is the most common species of cicada in New Zealand, where it is endemic and found in most areas. They typically live in forests and areas with open bush, where their left-over nymph skins can be seen on tree trunks and branches during the summer months. The males produce their cicada sound in unison, which can reach deafening proportions at the height of their population around February. Groups of cicada can suddenly transition from the typical cicada sound to synchronised clicks, using their wings to clap against the surface they are sitting on.
Crickets are orthopteran insects which are related to bush crickets, and, more distantly, to grasshoppers. In older literature, such as Imms, "crickets" were placed at the family level, but contemporary authorities including Otte now place them in the superfamily Grylloidea. The word has been used in combination to describe more distantly related taxa in the suborder Ensifera, such as king crickets and mole crickets.
Acanthoplus discoidalis is a species in the Hetrodinae, a subfamily of the katydid family (Tettigoniidae). Like its closest relatives, Acanthoplus discoidalis variously bears common names such as armoured katydid, armoured ground cricket, armoured bush cricket, corn cricket, setotojane and koringkriek. The species is native to parts of Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Pterochroza ocellata, the peacock katydid, is an insect in the family Tettigoniidae from the Amazon rainforest in South America. It is the only species in the genus Pterochroza. The species is a leaf-mimic katydid; when it is in repose its camouflage resembles a diseased or dead leaf. The katydid owes both its common name and its specific epithet to its startle display, in which it shows false eye spots on its normally hidden hind wings.
Phaneroptera nana, common name southern sickle bush-cricket, is a species in the family Tettigoniidae and subfamily Phaneropterinae. It has become an invasive species in California where it may be called the Mediterranean katydid.
Taeniopoda eques, the western horse lubber grasshopper, is a relatively large grasshopper species of the family Romaleidae found in arid and semi-arid parts of southwestern United States to central and southwestern Mexico. Most populations are identifiable by their shiny black bodies with contrasting yellow markings, but some adults are mostly yellowish, orangish or greenish. The species is unique in using its black coloration to thermoregulate and in being chemically defended. The aposematic coloration warns vertebrate predators of its unpalatability and allows the grasshopper to roost conspicuously upon shrubs.
Panoploscelis is a genus of very large insects belonging to the true katydid tribe Eucocconotini, which is a subfamily of the Tettigoniidae. Like the other members of the suborder Ensifera, Panoploscelis are part of the insect order Orthoptera, which also contains crickets, grasshoppers and locusts. Members of this genus are among the largest katydids of the Neotropics.
The Copiphorini are a tribe of bush crickets or katydids in the family Tettigoniidae. Previously considered a subfamily, they are now placed in the subfamily Conocephalinae. Like some other members of Conocephalinae, they are known as coneheads, grasshopper-like insects with an extended, cone-shaped projection on their heads that juts forward in front of the base of the antennae.
Stilpnochlora couloniana is a species of phaneropterine katydid in the family Tettigoniidae, native to southeastern United States, the Bahamas and Cuba. It is known as the giant katydid and it is the largest katydid in the United States, with an average length of 6.6 cm (2.6 in) in adult males and 7.8 cm (3.1 in) in adult females. Individuals from Cuba tend to grow 5–10% larger than those from the United States. They are sometimes kept as pets.
Stilpnochlora is a genus of phaneropterine katydids in the family Tettigoniidae, native to tropical and subtropical parts of the Americas. There are about 15 described species in Stilpnochlora.
Cyphoderris monstrosa, also known as the great grig, is a species of hump-winged grig in the family Prophalangopsidae. Though the fossil record shows at least 90 extinct species from this family, C. monstrosa is one of only 7 known species alive today.
Wētā is the common name for a group of about 100 insect species in the families Anostostomatidae and Rhaphidophoridae endemic to New Zealand. They are giant flightless crickets, and some are among the heaviest insects in the world. Generally nocturnal, most small species are carnivores and scavengers while the larger species are herbivorous. Although some endemic birds likely prey on them, wētā are disproportionately preyed upon by introduced mammals, and some species are now critically endangered.
Siliquofera is a genus of bush cricket in the subfamily Phyllophorinae that includes only one species, Siliquofera grandis, which is fairly common and widespread in rainforest canopies of New Guinea and nearby smaller islands, and seemingly rare in Australia where only found in the remote Iron Range region. This very well-camouflaged, green and leaf-like bush cricket is one of the world's largest Orthoptera, with adults typically having a length of 10.7–13 cm (4.2–5.1 in) and a wingspan of 25–27 cm (9.8–10.6 in); it can weigh more than 30 g (1.1 oz).
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