Katydids

[misskt]

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

 

[omg_a_gecko]

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

 

[Funkstaa]

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

 

[wasgij]

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.

 

[Waterrat]

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

 

[hornet]

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

 

[Waterrat]

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

 

[Funkstaa]

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

 

[Funkstaa]

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

 

[Waterrat]

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.

 

[Funkstaa]

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

 

[Waterrat]

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

 

[Funkstaa]

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

 

[richoman_3]

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

 

[Funkstaa]

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 : (

 

[richoman_3]

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

 

[omg_a_gecko]

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

 

[Funkstaa]

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

 

[bpb02]

Are these things just grasshoppers?

 

[richoman_3]

Are these things just grasshoppers?

there not grasshoppers, they are related though