Mountain Katydid - Acripeza reticulata
Family TETTIGONIIDAE
This page contains pictures and information about the Mountain Katydids that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
- Nymph, body length 25mm
- The Mountain katydid nymph is black in colour with two white strips on its back. It is slow moving. When disturbed, it bends its abdomen and show the bright orange colour.
- First found Two months later
- Mountain Katydid is expected to be found in high altitude habitat. Anyway, we found this Mountain Katydid nymph near Yugarapul Park in Sunny Bank, Brisbane once. It was September 2002. The nymph was resting on a dry grass. We took it home to see how it grow. It dead two months later, It moulted once within the two months. We can see its wing-buds then so it could be its last instars stage when its dead. We do not know why it dead before it matured.
- We found that it feed on grass and like to eat the grass seeds. In the close up picture, we can cleanly see its mouth-parts and its hearing organs on its front legs.
- Mountain Katydid, Adult Photos by Trina de Cusack - North Haven, NSW
- Trina de Cusack from NSW sent us the two photos above. Trina told us that the Mountain Katydid was found on "Big Brother Mountain" over looking Laurieton in the Camden Haven mid north coast of NSW. It was camouflaged with the gum tree fallen remnants on side of walking track. It was externally in mauve colour. When noticed it was strutting in a half circular pattern of movent back and forth with rear facing outside. It lifted his wings even higher when came closer, demonstrating its false bravado red and blue abdomen.
- Mountain Katydid, Adult, body length 30mm
- After three years of searching, in Dec 2005, we found another Mountain Katydid in Yugarapul Park. It was an adult. It was resting on a Monkey Rope (Parsonsia straminea) leaf above half a meter above ground in a hot summer afternoon.
- The katydid was slow moving and seems can not jump like other katydid. When disturbed, it drop onto the ground and displayed it colour-banded abdomen.
