Amazing Nature - Insect World - True Leaf Katydid (Zabalius aridus)
Zabalius is a genus of bush crickets of katydids in the subfamily Pseudophyllinae.
It's distribution is essentially Afrotropical.
They are generally heavily built, tree-dwelling herbivorous katydids, capable of flight. Source Wikiwand
What I learned from research they use their wings to make noise to attract a mate, much like crickets. Lifespan about a year or less, this was an adult who lost it's way ending up indoors this this the time of mating being late summer early autumn.
After mating katydid female injects her eggs into plant stem or into the ground, apparently gray in colour, oval in shape. Eggs remain in plant stem or ground through winter months hatching out in Spring.
Emerging from the eggs baby katydids are called nymphs, losing layers molting several times during growth, eventually they undergo final molt after two to three months. Adults do have wings, only take to flight when threatened, preferring to walk from tree to tree, climbing up to branches disappearing like a leaf into foliage above, no wonder you seldom see them!
This guy got trapped indoors found in the morning, so after an night over (obviously knows nothing about lock down rules), we took him out and placed him (I assume it's male) on a leaf with water from evening rain during the night.
Now I may be wrong I did not get the opportunity to ask if is was perhaps a female, since females are normally larger apparently. 'He' had sexy spiky legs, so assumption....
Outdoors on the leaf sucking up like a hoover machine droplets disappeared before my eyes, once finished washed his hands/legs satisfied, before going beneath the leaf to rest, stayed there all day by the next day was gone, with camouflage like that no wonder!
We get some amazing arrivals into the home every so often, this was a lovely surprise not having seen one in ages, they blend into nature so well take a careful look at the eyes, those highly coloured legs may put some predators off, if they happen to see them.
When resting under the leaf it blended in looking the part, no legs showing, birds would not see from above, don't know if anything would go lurking below, even though it does not appear to fly often one can understand why, they simply hide away in the leaves.
I don't think he ate the hole into the leaf, too tired after his night out, he drank and went into hiding to play a tune and find a mate during the night...
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