Insects in the family Tettigoniidae are commonly called katydids, or bush crickets. They have previously been known as "long-horned grasshoppers". More than 6,400 species are known. Part of the suborder Ensifera, the Tettigoniidae are the only extant (living) family in the superfamily Tettigonioidea.
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 Nihoa conehead katydid is a species of katydid which is endemic to the Hawaiian island of Nihoa. It is one of the ten species in the genus Banza, all of them native to Hawaii, although it is the sister species to the remaining nine, and may belong in a separate genus. It gets its food mostly from plant leaves, but because of the low population, it does not do significant damage. Unlike Main Islands' species, whose males leap on the females before mating, the Nihoa variants sing to them. It is listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List, and as a "species of concern" under the Endangered Species Act.
Megacrania batesii, commonly known as the peppermint stick insect, is an unusual species of stick insect found in northeastern Australia, the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, and possibly as far north as the Philippines. It is notable for its aposematic coloration, as well as its robust chemical defense mechanism. Its common name refers to the irritating fluid — with an odor resembling peppermint — that it sprays as a defensive action from a pair of glands located at its prothorax when threatened, as well as the cylindrical, twig-like shape of its body. A member of the subfamily Megacraniinae, it was first described by English naturalist and explorer Henry Walter Bates in 1865.
Ultrasound avoidance is an escape or avoidance reflex displayed by certain animal species that are preyed upon by echolocating predators. Ultrasound avoidance is known for several groups of insects that have independently evolved mechanisms for ultrasonic hearing. Insects have evolved a variety of ultrasound-sensitive ears based upon a vibrating tympanic membrane tuned to sense the bat's echolocating calls. The ultrasonic hearing is coupled to a motor response that causes evasion of the bat during flight.
Eupholidoptera chabrieri is a species of katydid belonging to the subfamily Tettigoniinae.
Archaboilus is an extinct genus of bush-cricket that lived during the Jurassic period. Five species are known, ranging from the earliest Jurassic (Hettangian) to the end of the Middle Jurassic (Callovian) of Asia.
Panoploscelis is a genus of very large insects belonging to the true katydid tribe Eucocconotini, which is a subfamily of the katydids. 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.
Sphagniana sphagnorum, the bog katydid, is the only species in the family Tettigoniidae endemic to Canada. It frequents black-spruce sphagnum bogs across the Canadian northwest from Ontario to the Yukon. The two-part song of the males is remarkable among acoustic insects for alternating between two sound spectra: high audio sound frequencies are changed for ultrasonic frequencies every quarter second. The forewings rub to and fro, drawing a scraper on one forewing along a row of teeth (file) on the other forewing and sending thin glassy wing cells into oscillation to radiate sound; two different regions of this file are used for the two spectra.
Onomarchus is a genus of bush crickets or katydids found mainly distributed in the tropical forests of Asia. Like many other members of the subfamily Pseudophyllinae, their wings appear very leaf-like.
Mecopodinae, the long-legged katydids, are a subfamily of bush crickets found in western South America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia. In Asia, the distribution includes India, Indochina, Japan, the Philippines, and Malesia to Papua New Guinea and Australasia, including many Pacific islands.
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.
Typophyllum is a genus of leaf-mimicking katydids belonging to the family Tettigoniidae.
Agraeciini is a large tribe of bush crickets or katydids in the conehead subfamily, Conocephalinae.
Conocephalus strictus, the straight-lanced meadow katydid, is a species of katydid found in North America.
Chlorobalius leucoviridis, commonly known as the spotted predatory katydid, is a species of long-horned grasshopper in the family Tettigoniidae. It is a predator and is an acoustic aggressive mimic of cicadas; by imitating the sounds and movements made by female cicadas, it lures male cicadas to within its reach and then eats them.
Caedicia simplex is a species of bush cricket, native to New Zealand. It is also found in Australia.
Mantophryne insignis is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Woodlark Island in the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. The specific name insignis is Latin meaning "remarkable" or "conspicuous". It refers to the distinctive colour pattern of this frog, as well as to its unusual arboreal lifestyle within predominantly terrestrial genus.
The UPLB Museum of Natural History is a natural science and natural history museum within the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) campus. It serves as a center for documentation, research, and information of flora and fauna of the Philippines. The museum is one of the research and extension units of the UPLB and its role parallels that of a library for written records.
Erechthis levyi, the blue-faced katydid or Eleuthera rhino katydid, is a katydid found in The Bahamas. Currently, it is described from specimens collected only on the island of Eleuthera. They are light brown in color throughout the body, but exhibit a bright turquoise-blue face and bear a prominent spine on the vertex of the head between the eyes, hence the common names. It is tentatively considered an endemic species to The Bahamas, as no specimens are recorded from Cuba or Hispaniola, where other Erechthis species occur. The species was named in honor of Leon Levy, a prominent Wall Street financier and philanthropist who spent much time on Eleuthera and was an avid admirer of the island's flora and natural beauty.
