Fork-Tailed Bush Katydid Facts and Its Unseen Life

Meet the fork-tailed bush katydid, a fascinating insect with a special forked tail. Let’s dive into the world of this intriguing katydid and uncover the secrets behind its appearance and survival.

Fork-tailed bush katydid appearance

The fork-tailed bush katydid is a type of katydid that has a size of about 1.4 to 1.6 inches in length. It has a slim, dark leafy-green body, which may show splashes of red, brown, yellow, purple, black, or white, particularly in the fall. 

The common name of this bush cricket comes from a distinctive trait found in males. The male has a uniquely shaped “supra-anal plate” at the end of its abdomen that looks like a U with rounded tips, giving it a forked tail appearance. This plate is typically brownish or purplish. Beneath this, a subgenital plate curls upward, fitting snugly between the two lobes. Usually, the katydid’s folded wings hide this striking tail feature, making it less visible at a glance.

The female of this species, on the other hand, lacks this forked tail structure. However, they are still distinct with a brown ovipositor at the end of their abdomen, unlike the green ovipositors found in similar species.

This bush cricket features long, threadlike antennae and four-segmented feet. Its wings, known as tegmina, are a plain green color and closely mimic the appearance of leaves, without any black streaks.

They are attracted to lights and are skilled at both flying and hopping.

Habitat

The fork-tailed bush katydid is found throughout all 48 contiguous U.S. states, from coast to coast, and is also found in southern parts of British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia. The bug inhabits the upper branches of trees and bushes in various environments, including thickets, woodlands, wetlands, and both urban and suburban landscaped areas. Although it seldom comes down to the ground,t, the katydid can occasionally be spotted in tall grasses and forage crops when disturbed.

Diet

The fork-tailed bush katydid mainly eats leaves and other plant materials from gardens, shrubs, forests, and parks. These insects also nibble on young citrus and stone fruits, leaving small bites that can turn into brownish, gray, or tan spots on the fruit.

Despite this, the inside quality of fruit from home bushes and trees usually remains unaffected. Therefore, there’s often no need for control measures against these insects since they’re rarely found in large numbers and can be easily managed by hand.

The insect is preyed upon by various species, including birds, mammals like rodents and opossums, and parasites such as horsehair worms and flies. Another notable predator is the great golden digger wasp. These wasps capture and paralyze katydids and crickets to bring them back to their burrows and eat them.

Life cycle

These katydids are active from July to October, singing a simple “tsip!” sound every few seconds at night. With a dominant frequency of around 15 kHz, their calls can be heard clearly.

During the mating season, the female fork-tailed bush katydid uses her thin ovipositor to insert eggs between the layers of a leaf, causing a small, blister-like swelling. She repeats this on various leaves, laying as many as 175 eggs throughout her life.

The eggs of this species are flat and white. They hatch in the spring, releasing nymphs—small, wingless versions of their adult forms. These nymphs undergo several molts before maturing into adults. About 20 days after becoming adults, they start to find mates and reproduce. This species typically has one generation per year in northern areas and two in southern areas. The lifespan of these katydids lasts for a year.

Reference: Wikipedia