Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Discussion on other insect orders not covered above and on other invertebrates such as arachnids, centipedes, millipedes, etc,
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boghaunter1
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Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by boghaunter1 »

One of the most striking & extremely rare color forms found in Grasshoppers & Katydids is Vivid PINK. They can also occur, again, very rarely, in bright yellow & orange forms. The eye-catching pink forms rarely survive to adulthood in nature due to their obviously garish colors that easily attract predators. They are most often found, & survive to become adults, in protected, lab reared cultures. Having said that, I just recently stumbled across, (on TikTok of all places!), an adult, wild pink katydid found in someone's back yard in the U.S.. A few pink internet examples below,

Pink Katydid II.jpg
Pink Katydid II.jpg (45.14 KiB) Viewed 4274 times

& a pink grasshopper nymph,

Pink Grasshopper.jpg
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John K.
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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by daveuk »

Amazing John. Thanks for sharing.
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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by boghaunter1 »

You're very welcome daveuk... I really enjoy promoting interesting/rare, often smaller insects from other orders, besides the Lepidoptera. I think somewhere I read that well over 90% of the insects found on earth are less than a quarter of an inch (6mm) in length & therefore easily past under most peoples' radar (even long time, experienced "bug " collectors"!). Don't get me wrong... I certainly love, appreciate & collect the leps; however, the insect realm is sooo huge & varied that, in actuality, I find the bizarre body forms, huge (& vey tiny "gems") in the Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Orthoptera, Odonata, etc. as equally fascinating & as beautiful as the leps. 8-) Again, my personal opinion only...

John K. :geek:
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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by boghaunter1 »

Amazing Rare Wasp Mimic Katydid from Ecuador :shock:

Rare Katydid - Ecuador - Wasp Mimic.jpg
Rare Katydid - Ecuador - Wasp Mimic.jpg (111.81 KiB) Viewed 4214 times

Another unusual Katydid (female) from Ecuador - check out that ovipositor& spiked head!

Rare Katydid - Ecuador.jpg
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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by boghaunter1 »

Very beautiful, gaudy colored grasshopper from French Guiana with a bright yellowish/orange keel on the thorax - Monachidium lunum

Monachidium lunum - French Guiana I.jpg
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Monachidium lunum - French Guiana II.jpg
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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by boghaunter1 »

Not exactly "beautiful"... certainly more like "totally bizarre" Orthopterans offered for sale in the past.

Schizudactylus monstrosus - Pakistan (truly an appropriate scientific name!)

Schizudactylus monstrosus - Pakistan.jpg
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Pair of Dragonhead Katydids - Tapah Hills, Malaysia

Dragonhead Katydid - Tapah Hills, malaysia.jpg
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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by livingplanet3 »

The gigantic Neotropical grasshoppers of the genus Tropidacris are certainly worth mentioning in this thread -

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Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/entomopixel/7463506030
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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by boghaunter1 »

Huge Female Tropacris collaris from the Amazon region (blue hindwings) & +15cm Wingspan!

Tropidacris collaris - Amazon area - female.jpg
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Another Gigantic Female Tropacris dux (red hindwings) with an incredible 20.8 cm (8.25") Wingspan!

Tropidacris sp. female 20.8 cm.jpg
Tropidacris sp. female 20.8 cm.jpg (58.48 KiB) Viewed 4159 times

John K.
Last edited by boghaunter1 on Thu Mar 23, 2023 4:51 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by boghaunter1 »

Another huge & beautiful purple winged Grasshopper sp. that is quite commonly offered for sale from C. & S. Am. - Titanacris albipes...

Titanacris_Albipes_Vol.jpg
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Another of T. albipes...

titanacris5bu.jpg
titanacris5bu.jpg (89.04 KiB) Viewed 4157 times

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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by livingplanet3 »

Very large, very LOUD katydid (Macrolyristes corporalis) from Malaysia -

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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by boghaunter1 »

Really amazing & pricey Katydids from S. Am (Peru?)...

Top Female Pterochroza ocellata - brown wings (nice eyespots!)

Bottom Male P. ocellata - yellow wings
Attachments
Pterochroza ocellata - female (Medium).jpg
Pterochroza ocellata - female (Medium).jpg (87.74 KiB) Viewed 4149 times
Pterochroza ocellata male yellowish fm..jpg
Pterochroza ocellata male yellowish fm..jpg (71.29 KiB) Viewed 4149 times
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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by livingplanet3 »

boghaunter1 wrote: Wed Mar 22, 2023 9:24 pm Really amazing & pricey Katydids from S. Am (Peru?)...

Top Female Pterochroza ocellata - brown wings (nice eyespots!)

Bottom Male P. ocellata - yellow wings...
I've seen Pterochroza in many books; among the most beautiful of katydids, and quite incredible leaf mimics.

Threat display, followed by biting! -

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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by boghaunter1 »

Hello again livingplanet3,

Many, many thanks for finding & showing us those great videos on the noisy Katydid & the wonderful Peacock Katydid!... :shock: 8-) Just love promoting these kinds of (non-lepidopteran!) insects... :D ;) Does anyone have one of these great Peacock Katydids mounted upside down to show the even more colorful undersides?... Please show us.

John K. :geek:
Last edited by boghaunter1 on Thu Mar 23, 2023 4:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by Paul K »

These are the monsters among the insect world of our era.
My specimens came to light trap in French Guiana.

Tropidacris dux legs are so powerful that one holding it has to be very careful not to get pierced by its spikes.
The wingspan is whooping 228mm!

Titanacris albipes is about half of the size of T.dux but the colours are very impressive.

Luckily they are retaining their live colours even being almost two decades old.
1E9C9E19-F9DA-42D6-8C95-5B06A4CD1535.jpeg
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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by Panacanthus »

boghaunter1 - great thread.....one of my favorite groups!

Here are some variations of P. ocellata that I have yet to spread. Surely this is the most variable Orthoptera species in the world?! Endless color AND pattern variations. Mimics of green leaves, dead leaves with mold and/or decay, Autumn-colored leaves, and EVERYTHING in-between! Some have notches which mimic a leaf that a caterpillar may have chewed on. Others do not. Some have small clear "windows", while others do not. It's impossible to do these specimens justice with just a couple photos but these at least give an idea of the variations. One unfortunate thing about P. ocellata is that more often than not, they are received with broken antennae due to inadequate packaging. They are not too difficult to repair perfectly, however, if you use a microscope to join them back together. The smaller specimens in the photos are males.

PO IN.jpg
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PO IN 2.jpg
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Last edited by Panacanthus on Fri Mar 24, 2023 4:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by boghaunter1 »

Panacanthus,

Thank you very much for expanding our knowledge on the appearance of this fascinating group of tropical Katydids...incredible individual variation... WOW! :shock: :shock: You better get a couple dozen new insect drawers to house those once eventually mounted up! ;)

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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by livingplanet3 »

The giant helmeted katydid (Siliquofera grandis), one of the largest orthopterans in the world -

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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by Panacanthus »

livingplanet3 wrote: Thu Mar 23, 2023 5:25 pm The giant helmeted katydid (Siliquofera grandis), one of the largest orthopterans in the world -
These used to be so readily available. Not anymore! Wish I had bought more when they were so common and relatively cheap!
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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by Trehopr1 »

Here is a pretty nice well spread example of Siliquofera
which now belongs to me. I acquired it in June of 2019
after the owner/collector passed away after battling
Alzheimers.

His collection was parted out in (portions) and this was
amongst the exotic insects selection (not incl. leps or beetles).
I had known of him and others remarked that he had always
done some fine work with his specimens. This one continues
his legacy of insect appreciation....

I ALWAYS desired this species for many, many years and had at
least a couple opportunities to purchase or trade others for
Siliquofera however, none EVER came close to this one for its
color or natural appearance. Most were sadly quite a bit discolored
or had missing/broken antennae or tarsi.

This one looks as though it just leapt of a tree branch !

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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by Panacanthus »

Very nice specimen of S. grandis, Trehopr1. As you mentioned, they are very notorious for rather extreme color loss, even when properly stored with no light exposure. Their green just seems to “drain” away over time.

Here is another truly giant katydid which is still available. Macrolyristes corporalis and other Macrolyristes species.
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