Katydids

Q: How to identify Katydids?

Look for six legs, antennae, three body sections and the shape of the wings. Beetles have hardened front wings; flies have just one working pair. Tiny insects may need a close view before their group is clear. Insect Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

Q: What does Katydids eat?

Mostly plant eaters, munching on leaves, flowers, and fruits, but some enjoy insects too!

Q: Where is Katydids usually found?

Katydids can be found in gardens, forests, and grassy areas.

Q: What is the difference between a katydid and a grasshopper?

Katydids have very long, thread-like antennae, ears on their front legs, and sing by rubbing their forewings, mostly at night. Grasshoppers have short antennae and ears on the abdomen, and are active by day. Katydids are closer relatives of crickets.

Q: Do katydids bite?

They can. A large katydid may give a painful nip or pinch if it is handled, but it seldom breaks the skin, and it has no sting: the female’s “sword” is for laying eggs. Watch them without picking them up. If a nip breaks the skin, wash it and tell an adult.

Q: Why are some katydids pink?

Pink katydids are rare colour forms of normally green species. In the oblong-winged katydid, pink seems to be caused by a dominant gene. Pink ones are rare, probably because they are easier for predators to spot. One pink Arota festae even turned green in 11 days.

Q: Why is it called a katydid?

The name copies the loud three-pulse song of the common true katydid of North America, often heard as “Katy did, Katy didn’t” from treetops on summer nights.

Q: What do katydids eat?

Most katydids eat plants, especially leaves; the common true katydid eats the leaves of the trees it lives in. A few species hunt insects or scavenge, such as Europe’s predatory bush-cricket.

Q: Can people hear katydids?

Many, yes. Most katydid songs are between about 5 and 30 kHz, and people hear up to about 20 kHz, so we hear the lower songs. Some rainforest katydids sing far higher, up to 150 kHz.

Q: Can you eat katydids?

Some people do. In Eastern and Central Africa a katydid called nsenene (Ruspolia differens) is one of the most widely eaten insects, mostly collected from the wild in its season. Never eat a wild insect you have found yourself.

Tettigoniidae

Katydids, also called bush crickets or long-horned grasshoppers, make up the insect family Tettigoniidae, with more than 8,000 known species, most of them in the tropics. They have thread-like antennae that are often longer than the body, ears on their front legs, and males sing by rubbing their forewings together, mostly at night. Many look remarkably like leaves, and despite the old name they are closer relatives of crickets than of grasshoppers.

Also known as Bush cricket, Long-horned grasshopper, Long-horned meadow grasshopper

Katydid abilities

6+ separate origins of leaf-like wings
Many katydids are masqueraders: a hungry bird takes them for a leaf, not for food.
- Leaf-like wings have evolved at least 6 separate times in different katydid groups.
- In a field test, birds attacked 39.6% of 1,296 paper “katydids” baited with mealworms. Green, leaf-shaped ones survived best: colour and shape work best together.
- The best mimics add fake veins, fake brown spots and even fake holes, like a leaf that has been chewed.
- The trick is ancient: a leaf-mimicking katydid relative is known from the Middle Permian, more than 250 million years ago.
Sources [3, 4, 17]
≥50% pink young from a pink × green pairStill debated
A few katydids are pink instead of green. In the oblong-winged katydid this seems to come down to one dominant gene.
- When pink and green oblong-winged katydids breed, at least half of the young are pink.
- Pink is still rare in the wild. Scientists think green ones win because their camouflage works much better among leaves.
- Pink is not always for life: in 2025 a hot-pink Arota festae katydid in Panama faded to pastel pink in 4 days and was fully green 7 days later.
- Why that katydid changed colour is still unknown.
Sources [13, 18]
3 pulses in the “ka-ty-did” song
Males sing by rubbing a toothed file on one forewing over a scraper on the other.
- The name katydid copies the loud three-pulse “ka-ty-did” song of the common true katydid, which rasps “Katy did, Katy didn’t” from treetops on summer nights.
- Each species has its own song, so many katydids can be told apart by ear.
- In some species females sing too, and in others both sexes make harsh “protest” sounds when grabbed.
- Some rainforest katydids also court by shaking their bodies so the plant vibrates; females answer with vibrations of their own.
Sources [1, 2, 5, 9, 15, 19]
150 kHz highest-pitched arthropod song measured
Some katydids sing far above human hearing. Supersonus males from Colombia and Ecuador hold the record.
- Most katydid songs are between about 5 and 30 kHz. People hear up to about 20 kHz.
- Supersonus males call at 115, 125 and 150 kHz: the highest-pitched calling songs recorded from any arthropod.
- They are loud too: over 110 dB measured 15 cm away, from forewings smaller than 0.5 mm².
- High-pitched insect song is old: a Jurassic katydid relative already called above 20 kHz, long before bats existed.
Song pitch
Supersonus (highest)150 kHz
Supersonus (lowest)115 kHz
Most katydids (upper end)30 kHz
Copiphora gorgonensis23 kHz
Top of human hearing20 kHz
Jurassic Archaboilus6.4 kHz
Anything above 20 kHz is ultrasound: silent to people.
Sources [6, 11, 20, 21]
20–30 dB boost from the ear pinnaeStill debated
Tiny cups of hard skin around the eardrums act like outer ears tuned to bat calls.
- In Copiphora gorgonensis from Gorgona Island, Colombia, these pinnae boost high ultrasound, above about 60 kHz, by 20 to 30 dB.
- That matches the calls of the gleaning bats that hunt there. The katydid’s own song is much lower, at 23 kHz.
- Its ear nerves respond strongly both to its own song and to sounds of about 100 kHz, like a bat call.
- The study suggests the pinnae evolved mainly to detect bats. It looked at one species, so scientists are still testing the idea.
Sounds a Copiphora ear deals with
Eardrum resonance peak≈111
Bat call≈100
Its own song23 kHz
Top of human hearing20 kHz
Measured in Copiphora gorgonensis.
Sources [6, 11]
<1 mm inner ear length
In 2012 scientists showed that rainforest katydid ears work in three steps, just like ours.
- Eardrums collect the sound, a tiny lever plate passes it into fluid (the job of our middle-ear bones), and a fluid-filled strip sorts the pitches, like our cochlea.
- This inner ear is less than 1 mm long: an uncoiled cochlea with sensory cells lined up from low to high pitch.
- Katydids and mammals evolved these solutions separately, a striking example of convergent evolution.
- A 2024 computer model showed that a triangular surface under the hearing organ does the job of our basilar membrane.
Sources [6, 7, 8]
> body antenna length in many species
A katydid’s thread-like antennae usually reach past the tip of its abdomen.
- They are often longer than the whole body, which is why katydids were called long-horned grasshoppers.
- Short-horned grasshoppers have antennae less than half their body length, with fewer than 30 segments.
- Katydids belong with the crickets in the group Ensifera, which hear with ears on the front legs; grasshoppers hear with ears on the abdomen.
Sources [1, 9, 10, 22]
≈5 moults from nymph to adult
Katydids grow by moulting: a wingless nymph sheds its skin about 5 times before it has wings.
- Most nymphs look like small, wingless adults.
- Some nymphs look nothing like the adult and mimic ants, spiders, assassin bugs or flowers until they are big enough to be safer.
- Wings, and the ability to breed, only come with the final moult.
- In cool climates katydids spend the winter as eggs, and some species can delay hatching for a year or more.
Sources [1, 9, 23]

Tap a pin on the model or a part below.

6+ times leaf-like wings evolved
- The green forewings are shaped like leaves, with strong veins that look like the veins of a leaf.
- In many leaf-mimic species the wings also carry fake brown spots and fake holes, like a leaf that has been nibbled.
- At rest they fold like a roof over the body.
- Near the wing bases sits the song kit: a toothed file on one forewing and a scraper on the other.
Sources [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
2 eardrums on each front leg
- A katydid’s ears are on its front legs, just below the knee. From outside each looks like a small oval slit.
- Each front leg has a pair of eardrums. Sound reaches them from outside and also from inside, through an opening on the thorax and a narrow canal down the leg.
- Inside is a fluid-filled inner ear less than 1 mm long that sorts high from low pitches, a bit like our cochlea.
Sources [2, 6, 7, 8]
> body often longer than the whole body
- The thread-like antennae usually reach past the tip of the abdomen and can be longer than the whole body.
- They explain the old name long-horned grasshopper. Short-horned (true) grasshoppers have antennae less than half their body length.
- Long antennae are one of the quickest ways to tell a katydid from a grasshopper.
Sources [1, 2, 9, 10]
- Most katydids chew plants, especially leaves. The common true katydid eats the leaves of the trees it lives in.
- A few species hunt insects or scavenge. Supersonus katydids and Europe’s predatory bush-cricket (Saga pedo) are hunters.
- A large katydid can give a painful nip if it is grabbed, but it seldom breaks the skin.
Sources [1, 2, 9, 11, 12]
- Many katydids are nocturnal: they are heard most at night in summer and early autumn.
- By day many sit still on leaves in a resting pose that makes predators take them for a leaf.
- In autumn, cold nights make common true katydids clumsy and many drop to the ground.
Sources [1, 9]
- Most katydids are leaf-green, but a few individuals are bright pink, yellow, orange or tan.
- In the oblong-winged katydid, pink seems to be caused by a dominant gene and green by a recessive one.
- Green ones still far outnumber pink ones, probably because green camouflage works much better.
Sources [2, 13]
- The hind legs are the longest. In round-headed katydids such as the oblong-winged katydid they are very long.
- Sharp spines on the leg segments help to put off predators.
- The common true katydid mostly walks and rarely flies; gliding is more its style.
Sources [2, 9, 13]
- Only females have it: a flat, sword-shaped egg-laying tube at the tail end. It is for laying eggs, not for stinging.
- The common true katydid pushes her eggs into cracks in tree bark late in the season. They spend the winter there and hatch in spring.
- Sickle-shaped ovipositors usually lay eggs in plant tissue; long, straight ones lay them in grass stems.
Sources [1, 2, 9]
<2 s of calling per day in some rainforest species
- Gleaning bats pick katydids off leaves, often finding them by the sounds they make.
- In tests, a rainforest gleaning bat could find katydid models that sat still, but it preferred ones that moved.
- Many rainforest katydids keep their calls very short and rare: less than 2 seconds of sound in a whole day and night.
Sources [14, 15, 16]

Real katydids and bush crickets

Photos from Wikimedia Commons. Katydids are a huge family, so several species are shown and labelled.

Leaf-green (common true katydid)Bright green, with veined, cupped forewings that wrap the body like a leaf, and very long antennae.The usual colour: camouflage among leavesCommon true katydid (Pterophylla camellifolia), the “Katy did” singer of eastern North America.. Photo: Melissa McMasters from Memphis, TN, United States, CC BY 2.0
Pink (erythristic)The same katydid in pink. Pink, yellow, orange and tan forms are known in the oblong-winged katydid.Rare: green camouflage works better among leavesA rare pink katydid at Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada.. Photo: Flickr user Ric McArthur, CC BY 2.0
Leaf-green (common true katydid)Bright green, with veined, cupped forewings that wrap the body like a leaf, and very long antennae.The usual colour: camouflage among leavesLeaf-mimic katydid (Pycnopalpa bicordata), Trinidad.. Photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typophyllum mortuifolium, a katydid that mimics a dead leaf.Photo: Pavel Kirillov, CC BY-SA 4.0
FemaleLike the male, plus a flat, sword-shaped ovipositor at the tail end.Lays eggs into bark cracks, plant tissue or grass stemsFemale great green bush-cricket (Tettigonia viridissima): note the sword-like ovipositor. Bulgaria.. Photo: Dimitǎr Boevski, CC BY-SA 4.0
NymphSmaller and wingless. In some species nymphs look like ants or spiders instead.Grows through about 5 moultsBush katydid nymph (Scudderia sp.), Washington, DC.. Photo: Katja Schulz from Washington, D. C., USA, CC BY 2.0
Leaf-green (common true katydid)Bright green, with veined, cupped forewings that wrap the body like a leaf, and very long antennae.The usual colour: camouflage among leavesAnother common true katydid (Pterophylla camellifolia).. Photo: Greg Schechter from San Francisco, USA, CC BY 2.0
Rhinoceros katydid (Copiphora rhinoceros), a relative of the ear-study species Copiphora gorgonensis.Photo: Greg Hume, CC BY-SA 4.0
Predatory bush-cricket (Saga pedo), southern France. It is listed as Vulnerable.Photo: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE, CC BY-SA 2.0

Katydids by the numbers

Measured by scientists in the field and the lab.

Known species: 8,000+; most of them in the tropics⁠[9]
Species in North America: ≈255; the Amazon basin alone has more than 2,000⁠[9]
Highest song pitch: 150 kHz; Supersonus katydids, Colombia and Ecuador; Supersonus song150 kHzTop of human hearing20 kHz; 7.5 times higher than the top of human hearing⁠[11]
Supersonus loudness: >110 dB; measured 15 cm away⁠[11]
Inner ear length: <1 mm; inside a front leg⁠[7]
Ear pinna boost: 20–30 dB; for sounds above 60 kHz, in Copiphora gorgonensis⁠[6]
Common true katydid length: ≈6.4 cm; up to about 2½ inches, not counting legs, wings or antennae⁠[1]
Moults to adult: ≈5; wings come with the last one⁠[9]
Leaf-like wings evolved: 6+ times; in separate katydid groups⁠[3]
Calling per day: <2 s; some rainforest katydids, living with bats⁠[16]

Katydid myths and facts

Some things people say about katydids are true. Some are not. Tap to check.

0 of 8 answered

“Katydids are just a kind of grasshopper.”
“Katydids hear with ears on their heads.”
“Pink katydids are a separate species.”
“A pink katydid stays pink for life.”
“Katydids chew holes in leaves to hide better.”
“All katydids are vegetarians.”
“Insects only began singing in ultrasound to dodge bats.”
“A katydid’s sword-like tail is a stinger.”

Katydid records

Superlatives backed by measurements.

Highest-pitched insect song
150 kHz
Supersonus katydids (Colombia, Ecuador)
the highest calling song recorded from any arthropod; people hear only up to about 20 kHz⁠[11]
Big sound, tiny wings
>110 dB
Supersonus katydids
measured 15 cm away, made with forewings smaller than 0.5 mm²⁠[11]
Among the smallest ears of any animal
<1 mm
Rainforest katydids (Copiphora)
inner ear length, yet it works in the same three steps as our hearing⁠[8, 7]
Oldest leaf disguise
Middle Permian
Permotettigonia gallica
a leaf-mimicking katydid relative more than 250 million years old; before this find, the oldest known insect leaf mimics were from the Mesozoic⁠[17]

A katydid’s life

A year in the life of the common true katydid of eastern North America. There is one generation a year.

Autumn
Eggs into bark
The female uses her sword-shaped ovipositor to push eggs into cracks in tree bark.⁠[1]
Winter
Waiting in the egg
The eggs survive the cold. In some bush-crickets eggs wait through an extra year or more before hatching.⁠[1, 23]
Spring
Hatching
Tiny wingless nymphs hatch out.⁠[1]
Late spring to summer
Moult after moult
Nymphs shed their skin about 5 times, growing each time. In some species the young mimic ants or spiders.⁠[9, 1]
Summer
Wings at last
The final moult gives the adult its leaf-like wings.⁠[1]
Late summer nights
Katy did, Katy didn’t
Males rasp their loud mating calls from high in the trees.⁠[1]
First cold nights
The end of the season
Cool weather makes adults clumsy and many fall to the ground. The species gets through winter as eggs.⁠[1, 23]

Katydid vs grasshopper vs cricket

Three jumping insects that are easy to mix up, side by side.

Katydid vs grasshopper vs cricket
	Katydid	Grasshopper	Cricket
Group⁠[22]	Ensifera (with crickets)	Caelifera	Ensifera (with katydids)
Antennae⁠[2, 10, 24]	Very long, often longer than the body	Short, under half the body length	Long and slender
Ears⁠[2, 22, 25, 24]	On the front legs	On the abdomen	On the front legs
How it sings⁠[5, 25, 10, 24]	Rubs its forewings together	Pegs on the hind legs (some species) or wing crackles in flight	Rubs its forewings together
Most active⁠[9, 25, 24]	Mostly at night	By day	Mostly at night
Female’s egg-layer⁠[2, 25, 26]	Flat and sword-shaped	Short	Long and needle-like
Eggs laid in⁠[1, 9, 26]	Bark cracks, plant tissue or grass stems	—	Soil

“—” means we found no reliable figure to compare.

Are katydids endangered?

With more than 8,000 species, katydids range from everyday garden singers to rare, protected hunters.

IUCN Red List

Varies by species

Trend unknown

GBIF lists the family as Not Evaluated. Most katydid species have never been assessed, but a few, such as Europe’s predatory bush-cricket, are listed as Vulnerable.⁠[27, 9, 28]

Family not assessed as a whole; some species are

Threats

Lost open grassland
For the predatory bush-cricket in Italy, forest spreading over abandoned meadows and more intensive farming are the main threats.⁠[12, 29]
Small, cut-off groups≈197
One Italian population was estimated at about 197 insects, scattered in small clearings surrounded by woodland.⁠[12]
Easy to miss≈21%
Many katydids are hidden and call rarely. In one survey, the chance of spotting a predatory bush-cricket that was really there was only about 21%.⁠[12, 16]

What’s helping

Green corridors
Mapping corridors between grassland patches shows where to reconnect predatory bush-cricket populations.⁠[29]
Listening for insects
Recording insect songs can track the health of rainforests without catching anything.⁠[30]
Red Lists and the law
Europe’s grasshoppers, crickets and bush-crickets have their own regional Red List, and the predatory bush-cricket is protected under the EU Habitats Directive.⁠[31, 12]

Katydids with their own status

Predatory bush-cricket (Saga pedo)Vulnerable
A big hunting bush-cricket of dry, open grassland. Its females lay eggs without needing males.⁠[28, 29, 12]

Katydid quiz

12 questions. Every answer is somewhere on this page.

Question 1 of 12Score 0

Where are a katydid’s ears?

Katydids field notes

Diet, food web, safety and badges from the Snappit field guide.

Diet & Feeding

Mostly plant eaters, munching on leaves, flowers, and fruits, but some enjoy insects too!

Primary Foods

leaves
flowers
fruits
seeds
small insects
Foraging Method: Foraging

Ecological connections

European MantisEaten by
A common prey item for hungry praying mantises.
White OakEats
Feeds on the leaves of various oak species.
Swainson's ThrushEaten by
Frequently consumed by insectivorous songbirds.

Safety

Danger 1/5 · Very low

Katydids cannot sting, but a big one can give a painful nip if you pick it up. Watch it without touching it. If a nip breaks the skin, wash it and tell an adult.

Traits

Collections

Insects

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Orthoptera
Family: Tettigoniidae

Also known as

Bush cricket · Long-horned grasshopper · Long-horned meadow grasshopper · Tettigoniid · Katydid

Sources for these katydid facts

32 studies and references · checked Oct 16, 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

How to identify Katydids?

Look for six legs, antennae, three body sections and the shape of the wings. Beetles have hardened front wings; flies have just one working pair. Tiny insects may need a close view before their group is clear. Insect Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

What is Katydids's wingspan?

40-150 mm

How big is Katydids?

20-70 mm

How long does Katydids live?

30-180 days

What does Katydids eat?

Mostly plant eaters, munching on leaves, flowers, and fruits, but some enjoy insects too!

Where is Katydids usually found?

Katydids can be found in gardens, forests, and grassy areas.

How many legs does Katydids have?

What is the difference between a katydid and a grasshopper?

Katydids have very long, thread-like antennae, ears on their front legs, and sing by rubbing their forewings, mostly at night. Grasshoppers have short antennae and ears on the abdomen, and are active by day. Katydids are closer relatives of crickets.

Do katydids bite?

They can. A large katydid may give a painful nip or pinch if it is handled, but it seldom breaks the skin, and it has no sting: the female’s “sword” is for laying eggs. Watch them without picking them up. If a nip breaks the skin, wash it and tell an adult.

Why are some katydids pink?

Pink katydids are rare colour forms of normally green species. In the oblong-winged katydid, pink seems to be caused by a dominant gene. Pink ones are rare, probably because they are easier for predators to spot. One pink Arota festae even turned green in 11 days.

Why is it called a katydid?

The name copies the loud three-pulse song of the common true katydid of North America, often heard as “Katy did, Katy didn’t” from treetops on summer nights.

What do katydids eat?

Most katydids eat plants, especially leaves; the common true katydid eats the leaves of the trees it lives in. A few species hunt insects or scavenge, such as Europe’s predatory bush-cricket.

Can people hear katydids?

Many, yes. Most katydid songs are between about 5 and 30 kHz, and people hear up to about 20 kHz, so we hear the lower songs. Some rainforest katydids sing far higher, up to 150 kHz.

Can you eat katydids?

Some people do. In Eastern and Central Africa a katydid called nsenene (Ruspolia differens) is one of the most widely eaten insects, mostly collected from the wild in its season. Never eat a wild insect you have found yourself.

Are katydids endangered?

Most of the more than 8,000 species have never been assessed by the IUCN, and many are common. A few are at risk: Europe’s predatory bush-cricket (Saga pedo) is listed as Vulnerable because its open grassland is disappearing.