For the identification of insects and other fauna and flora of South Africa.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Tree Cricket (Oecanthus sp) Gryllidae

At first I thought that this was a katydid with its long legs but I had never seen a brown one before and was puzzled.
After searching through my book, I found it to be a Tree Cricket. They are very small, body length about ½ an inch. All have wings and are capable of flight. The most interesting things about them is that their chirp rate is temperature dependent and can be used to identify the species. Leaves are used as cones to amplify the mating chirp, one species calling from just behind a small hole gnawed in a leaf.

No comments: