That Katydid that visited us yesterday morning didn't go far. In the evening, we heard it's distinctive song form the kitchen. It had found The Wife's potted ferns and climbed to the top for an intimate indoor performance.
I've heard thousands of these insects performing in my lifetime, but I've never watched one up close. According to the Songs of Insects website, "It is extremely difficult to capture these katydids because they are usually high up in trees, especially oaks, and they blend well with their surroundings."
I feel honored that this one dropped in.
I was even able to grab some video! You can watch it making that distinctive summer "chirp" by crashing its wings together.
I don't have much experience in the video department, and this was recorded with a cheap SLR camera using it's built-in microphone - which was sensitive enough to record my dog drinking in the background!
Evolution is so strange. Here's a bug that blends in so completely that it's invisible to predators. Then it makes a noise to tell the world, "Here I am!"
We can't stay hidden for all our lives, I guess. This one's only got a few months left to live, and if it doesn't attract a mate soon it will have lived in vain. Sometimes it's worth putting yourself out there, predators be damned.
When it was finished performing, it hopped up onto a nearby lampshade for a bow. The light captured the translucent structure of the wings perfectly - and made it easy for us to catch the katydid and return it to the outdoors, where its song can attract the proper audience.
