Green-leaf Mimic Katydid
Typophyllum sp
-2.15, -77.69
Field Notes
Description:
Tettigoniidae family. The body of this Katydid was about 6-8 cm long. The body had the shape of a green leaf including the middle stem (petiole) and veins. It even goes so far as to imitate a diseased or damaged leaf with holes and spots. The antennae are dark and the head and parts of legs are gray. The rest of the body as well as the front of the head are green.
Habitat:
This one was found in a wooden house in the Amazon rainforest of SE Ecuador (700 masl). It doesn't really blend in all that well with a blue waste basket so I don't think that is probably its natural habitat :-)
Notes:
Most tettigoniids eat plants although there are a few that prey on other insects. This Katydid had been tangled in cobwebs and was in some difficulty. I cleaned it off, put it back on the wastebasket for pictures and put him outside. The leaf mimicry is amazing.
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