# Katydids



## misskt (Jun 14, 2010)

Im quite keen on getting some Katydids. Could anyone tell me a bit more about them and where I would get them from?


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## omg_a_gecko (Jun 14, 2010)

you can find them in your garden, bit cold atm for them. Did you have any species in particular in mind?


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## Funkstaa (Jun 14, 2010)

I want some too! I got in contact with the australian insect farm and they put them in the too hard basket  if you do find some could you send me a pm pretty please...My lil miss 5 hasn't stopped nagging lol


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## wasgij (Jun 14, 2010)

it will be tricky to find them at the moment. during summer though they all come out and are easy to catch. If you are desperate join the Australian invertebrate forum and ask people if they have any. i think there is a user or 2 that keeps them, good luck.


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## Waterrat (Jun 14, 2010)

There are hundreds of species - which one you want? Do you have the right food-plant to keep them on?


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## hornet (Jun 17, 2010)

as said there are hundreds of species, most are fairly boring but there are a few species worthy of recognition. I've kept 2 species myself, mountain katydids which i had no luck with and no one else i know of has had any luck with them either or rainforest katydids which seem to be alot easier. Should have rainforest katydids available when it warms up


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## Waterrat (Jun 17, 2010)

It's great when someone starts a thread, asks a question and then never comes back.


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## Funkstaa (Jun 17, 2010)

Which species is this?...We let a little friend 'babysit' and didn't have a good outcome lol...


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## Funkstaa (Jun 17, 2010)

all good waterrat I think I may have hijacked it - don't feel so bad now : p


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## Waterrat (Jun 17, 2010)

Funkstaa said:


> I want some too! I got in contact with the australian insect farm and they put them in the too hard basket



What did they say? I know they are/were breeding the Spiny katydid _Phricta_ sp. A very nice, big and spectacular species.


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## Funkstaa (Jun 17, 2010)

They said Katydids take quite a bit more work to breed , it all depends on the species , toooo much to go into here . : (


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## Waterrat (Jun 17, 2010)

That may be true but for all they know, you could be an expert in breeding Orthopterans.


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## Funkstaa (Jun 17, 2010)

Well I COULD be but - am having troubles getting my cricket colony started so not so sure lol...Would love to learn more about them and get my hands on some but until we found that one I had never even seen or heard of them : p


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## richoman_3 (Jun 17, 2010)

the most common is the common green garden katydid - found mostly in your garden during summer, i find a few. Some of the nice species are spotted predatory katydid ( chlorobalius leucoviridis ) and rainforest tree katydid ( phricta spinose )
minibeast wildlife sells some rainforest tree katydids - Minibeast pets, bug pets, pet bugs, spiders, scorpions and stick insects


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## Funkstaa (Jun 17, 2010)

I think the one we caught was the green garden variety - nothing over the top but we thought it was pretty amazing...
I had a look at that website -Thankyou! will definately be ordering somestick insects but I couldn't see Katydid's : (


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## richoman_3 (Jun 17, 2010)

Funkstaa said:


> I think the one we caught was the green garden variety - nothing over the top but we thought it was pretty amazing...
> I had a look at that website -Thankyou! will definately be ordering somestick insects but I couldn't see Katydid's : (


 
there is some there .... rainforest tree katydids ........ 
join this forum if your interested in inverts, very very helpful and got me right into the hobby  - Australian Invertebrate Forum - Forum


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## omg_a_gecko (Jun 17, 2010)

I have kept a few species, this one was from my backyard - one of many on our raspberry vine. It was ID'd as a Common Garden Katydid, _Caedicia simplex,_ there are many similar species. 

I found it interesting watching the Katydids develop over the weeks I had them, going through their different growth stages or "instars". Unlike when a reptile sheds their skin, insects can go through changes that make them emerge dramatically different. The beautiful leaf like wings appear in the last moult of this katydid (wings appear in the final moult of insects with the exception of mayflies, where it is the second last)

I found they enjoy rose petals, chewing away the soft petals must have been a pleasant change to rough, spiny raspberry leaves.






Theres a new guide book on Australian Katydids out very recently, i'm looking forward to getting a copy soon!
CSIRO PUBLISHING - Forthcoming Releases

A beautifully illustrated quide to keeping insects in captivity you should definately get a copy of if you dont already - covers a lot more invertebrates than just katydids if you feel like trying to keep something else a bit different
Bugs Alive - A Guide to Keeping Australian Invertebrates


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## Funkstaa (Jun 18, 2010)

WOW! What an amazing photo...The rainforrest Katydid's look a little scary lol I'm loving the garden variety they look just like leaves : p I joined the inverterbrate forum yesterday, just haven't had a chance to have a good look on there yet, but it's great there's a forum for it - I had no idea...kind of comforting to see other bug nuts tee hee


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## bpb02 (Jun 18, 2010)

Are these things just grasshoppers?


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## richoman_3 (Jun 18, 2010)

bpb02 said:


> Are these things just grasshoppers?


 
there not grasshoppers, they are related though


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## omg_a_gecko (Jun 18, 2010)

*Grasshopper*



richoman_3 said:


> there not grasshoppers, they are related though



Yepper Richoman beat me to it... a general rule of thumb, grasshoppers have shorter, more robust antennae - like this grasshopper below:


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## Waterrat (Jun 18, 2010)

Here are few tropical katydids - enjoy.


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## omg_a_gecko (Jun 18, 2010)

They're all beautiful shots Michael, the 3rd last is especially neat - do you see many other katydids with legs as long as those?


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## Waterrat (Jun 18, 2010)

Hmmm, I've never paid much attention to their legs - I should have.


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## Funkstaa (Jun 18, 2010)

I didn't relise how many different kinds there are, and I didn't relise they were the grasshoppers cousin- although they are fairly simular, I was obsessed with collecting cicata 'shells' as a kid - filling my mum's glovebox when we went to eungella national park lol, now my daughter is the one bringing bugs into the house and I feel like a kid again ...
I'm trying to discourage her from literally 'plucking' butterfly's' from the air- as funny as it is watching her run around randomly...I would love to make her a 'butterfly garden' but that project will need some research : p
She really seemed infatuated with the Katydid though, more so than her stick insects, I just wish she would let go of dead ones I'm running out of tupperware containers lol


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## Funkstaa (Jun 18, 2010)

btw stunning photo's !


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## omg_a_gecko (Jun 18, 2010)

*Southern King Cricket*

No dramas, should you come across any super-long legged katydids, it may be a species that is of special interest to me!

I'm cheating, here's a Southern King Cricket


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## Waterrat (Jun 18, 2010)

King crickets are fantastic, we the smaller species here - the White-knee cricket (they do bite!)











another long-legged katydid from Iron Range.


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## omg_a_gecko (Jun 18, 2010)

*Anthophiloptera dryas*

They're beauties Michael, I especially like the last katydids racing stripe!

Here's the long legged beastie i've been keeping an eye out for, _Anthophiloptera dryas_. You should get them up your way too, they're a pollen specialist - if you see any please give me a buzz!


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## PilbaraPythons (Jun 18, 2010)

Nice photo's Michael. Does anyone know much about a large black one that you find over here, Jordan Vos was even wary of it as he reckons they have a frightening bite so that was enough to make me scared of it when it flew into the camp.


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## Waterrat (Jun 18, 2010)

Here's the long legged beastie i've been keeping an eye out for, _Anthophiloptera dryas_. You should get them up your way too, they're a pollen specialist - if you see any please give me a buzz!

They are great, I don't see them too often though.

Hi Dave, I am not sure which one it is. I believe the White-knee cricket is the largest one up here but there is a similar species that's darker and bites equally hard.


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## omg_a_gecko (Jun 18, 2010)

We had a cricket sitting on top the doorway of the loo at home, we tried persuading it to move along with a rolled up newspaper, which it gripped with its jaws and suspended as we let go. Frighteningly powerful for their size, and i've had a couple of different species latch on to me leaving a dent. 

I find it fun feeding Southern King Crickets a chunk of banana, they enthusiastically carve channels in it as they feed - a bit of overkill, hardened jaws that can devour prey, vs soft fruit. om nom nom


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## jordo (Jun 18, 2010)

Funkstaa said:


> View attachment 150968
> Which species is this?...We let a little friend 'babysit' and didn't have a good outcome lol...


 
Bad luck, that one is a Caedicia species.


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## Funkstaa (Jun 20, 2010)

bug enthusiast with L plates on here Jordo : p what does that mean - it will be hard to find more?


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## jordo (Jun 20, 2010)

Farma it's the genus of the katydid in your pic. Just like the name of an eastern bluetongue is Tiliqua scincoides, Tiliqua is the genera (genus) name. But that's probably just confused you even more... lol


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## Funkstaa (Jun 20, 2010)

ummm yeah just a bit lol, but when you put it the way you did - in comparison to the bluetounge it made a bit more sence, thanks : p ...
I just bought the 'bugs alive' book off ebay and made a deal with miss 5 that if we read it together and I can quiz her on the basics and if she took enough in than we will look at buying some Katydid's (and now she wants a giant rainforrest mantis too lol)
She's pretty switched on for her age and she understands that you don't just 'get a pet' and that she needs to meet it's needs as it can't fend for itself like a wild animal...Good to know she does actually listen 
Plus this time around no-one is bug sitting!..


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## jordo (Jun 20, 2010)

Oops, just realised I called you farma before, getting peoples usernames mixed up, sorry!
The Bugs Alive book is great to get you started. Most katydid species that are kept in captivity are pretty straight forward in terms of husbandry and some of the common ones are even fairly easy to get breeding.
Would love to see some pics when you get em.


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## Funkstaa (Jun 20, 2010)

I didn't even relise lol...I tried getting some from the australian insect farm, but he said they were too hard so I'm a little confused but I'm persistant so will do some reading first and then get some organised...Minibeasts has some for sale but they are the rainforrest type so I might shoot them through an email to see if I can get my hands on the same one we had (fingers crossed)...
Thanks for the help everyone!...If anyone has idea's on what I need for a set up tank please let me know


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## Waterrat (Jun 20, 2010)

Funkstaa, probably the best way to start is to decide on what species you want to keep. It's important because many katydids are specialists and you will need a steady supply of their required food-plant (or grow your own). Once you have that sorted out, drop me a PM and put you in touch with David Rentz, he will advise you on details and may even help you with live specimens.

You might find something interesting on katydids on David's blog: http://www.bunyipco.blogspot.com


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## Funkstaa (Jun 20, 2010)

I would really like to get the Caedicia species, and we have just started a edible garden so if someone could let me know what I need to grow for them I am more than happy to get that started : ) - I have no idea what they eat yet, but as I said before I have bought the Bugs Alive book unfortunately am rural so will have to do the waiting game for it to show up : ( 
That would be great Waterrat thanks so much! I'll have a look at his blog now I've just been checking out youtube vids of them, so far all I have found is people eating them for $5 bets and people smacking them so they makie their clicking noises grrr
I so don't understand some people - but ne ways...


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## Waterrat (Jun 20, 2010)

Contact David through his blog and pick his brain. He is the guru.


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## Funkstaa (Jun 20, 2010)

I will definately get in touch, thanks for the link to his blog - some good reading so far : )
Just filled hubby in on what's happening and kinda forgot he's done entomology for 3 years lol so am picking his brain too : p 
He said he'll pull out some of his old books for me - such a good hubby : D


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## hornet (Jun 20, 2010)

Waterrat said:


> What did they say? I know they are/were breeding the Spiny katydid _Phricta_ sp. A very nice, big and spectacular species.


 
that wasnt the australian insect farm, that is minibeasts wildlife from melbourne, run by alan henderson, jack from the AIF only really breeds phasmids, beetles and burrowing roaches


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