Differential grasshopper (Melanoplus differentialis)
Southeastern PA
Sept. 9, 2016
(A few of the range maps say that this grasshopper isn’t found on the east coast, so someone let me know if my ID is wrong)
Tag: orthoptera
In this extraordinary case of mimicry, a harmless katydid (Aganacris sp.), mimics the feared tarantula hawk (Pepsis sp.) This large wasp has one of the most painful insect stings known. Its sting has been described as “Blinding, fierce, shockingly electric. A running hair dryer has been dropped into your bubble bath” by the Schmidt Pain Index, a measure of severity of insect stings. That’s good news for the katydid, since many predators have learned to avoid insects with the warning coloration of the Pepsis wasp.
Visit The Field Museum’s insect collections online http://bit.ly/1FMfwV2
© The Field Museum. Photograph by Allie Stone, 2015
Copyright: The Field Museum.
Kid Katydid’s long lost cousin? xD
PiraticOctopus 