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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livingplanet3
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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by livingplanet3 »

Panacanthus wrote: Thu Mar 23, 2023 5:34 pm
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!
It seems as though this species should actually be more commonly available than ever before, since it is now being bred in captivity quite successfully. But, I suppose there is some difference between hobbyists breeding them as "pets", vs. those collected to supply the specimen market.

https://smallexoticfarm.ie/product/hood ... a-grandis/
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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by boghaunter1 »

WOW, WOW, WOW... Many Thanks to everyone for uploading additional photos of all these massive Katydids.

I first became aware of S. grandis when I bought a 1969 book, long ago in my youth, entitled "The Pictorial Encyclopedia of Insects" by V.J. Stanek. On pg. 52 - photo #71, is an old B. & W. photo of S. grandis resting on an outstretched hand. I was completely amazed by that old photo & that image has stuck in my brain for 50+ yrs! I did eventually obtain my own specimen years later (at a pretty reasonable price) & now, being reared commercially, they are available to everyone...AHhhh,,, the times they are a-changing...

Here is another live shot of M. corporalis from the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia

Macrolyristes corporalis - Malaysia - Cameron Highlands.jpg
Macrolyristes corporalis - Malaysia - Cameron Highlands.jpg (102.83 KiB) Viewed 2516 times

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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by Panacanthus »

I had no idea S. grandis is now being reared. I haven’t seen any whatsoever on the dealers’ lists. Evidently they are only being kept as “pets” at this time? I do wonder if these reared specimens attain the same size as the “wild” ones.

Would be nice to see some high quality dried specimens for sale!
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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by livingplanet3 »

boghaunter1 wrote: Thu Mar 23, 2023 8:52 pm ...I first became aware of S. grandis when I bought a 1969 book, long ago in my youth, entitled "The Pictorial Encyclopedia of Insects" by V.J. Stanek. On pg. 52 - photo #71, is an old B. & W. photo of S. grandis resting on an outstretched hand. I was completely amazed by that old photo & that image has stuck in my brain for 50+ yrs!...
That insect book by Dr. Václav Jan Staněk (1907–1983) was enormously influential on me in my youth as well, and it was from it that I too, first heard of S. grandis (which at the time of the book's publication, was called Phyllophora grandis), and was stunned by the photo. I still have the book, some 40 years after acquiring it, and it's quite treasured! Actually, Staněk's publications in general were an inspiration to me, and I have around half a dozen or more of them, most of which have now become quite obscure to all apart from a few enthusiasts with an interest in vintage natural history books. By age 30, Staněk was assistant to the National Museum (Prague), and not long after, he became director of the Prague Zoo -

https://cs-m-wikipedia-org.translate.go ... r_pto=wapp

https://www.librarything.com/author/stanekvj
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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by boghaunter1 »

More good memories livingplanet3! Thanks for the additional info on the author. Collecting vintage entomology books is another hobby of mine, as well. Interesting to hear how similar interests were spawned from some of the same books. I have another of his books on Butterflies & Moths. His pictorial encyclopedia is still available online (ebay, Abebooks, Thriftbooks, etc.)... have seen numerous copies recently & was quite surprised; must have been published in good numbers in different languages. 8-)

John K.
Last edited by boghaunter1 on Thu Mar 23, 2023 11:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by livingplanet3 »

Cosmoderus femoralis (Cameroon) -



and a huge Pseudophyllus from Borneo -

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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by livingplanet3 »

From my part of the world, Neobarrettia spinosa, a quite large carnivorous katydid found in desert scrubland -

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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by livingplanet3 »

Another predatory katydid, Panacanthus cuspidatus -

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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

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Mormon Crickets (actually Katydids)...

The largest sp. of cricket/katdydid I've found here in Saskatchewan was a couple of small "colonies" of Mormon crickets in extreme southern Sask. many years ago. I volunteered to help some entomologists from the Ag Canada Research stations in Regina (now closed) & from the Saskatoon station to do an inventory of the larger insect spp. in what has now been established as Grasslands National Park. The 2 small "colonies," as I called them, were found miles apart, on the tops of very arid, sparsely vegetated small knolls/hills in overgrazed pasture land. At these widely scattered locations there were about 30-50 individuals, of both sexes, at each site. They were made up of 2 color morphs brown & mottled green. I was shocked to see them for the very first time becauce of their size... large females approach 75mm (3") in length & were almost as fat as your thumb with a huge knife blade like ovipositor! They instantly reminded me of being smaller cousins of the Giant endangered Wetas of New Zealand! Following are a couple of YouTube videos (lots more online) that are pretty good at explaining them... they certainly can, at times be a pest sp. & can break out, occasionally, by the millions, in the drier areas of the western United States.





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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by Panacanthus »

livingplanet3 wrote: Fri Mar 24, 2023 2:08 am Another predatory katydid, Panacanthus cuspidatus -
I like that one! :lol:
Last edited by Panacanthus on Fri Mar 24, 2023 4:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by Panacanthus »

I don't know the name of these, but they are one of the rarest and most unusual pairs I have ever acquired. These are absolutely perfect specimens. All of the "notches" are natural mimicry. I haven't seen any of these spread but there appears to be a lot of yellow in the hindwings.


from Peru
LM IN.jpg
LM IN.jpg (657.08 KiB) Viewed 2472 times
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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by Panacanthus »

The incredible and rather large "bronze armored" cricket - Bradyporus dasypus from Macedonia. First photo is my own, second photo is from the internet, to show size.
Bradyporus dasypus Pair.jpg
Bradyporus dasypus Pair.jpg (342.47 KiB) Viewed 2468 times
s-l1600.jpg
s-l1600.jpg (470.68 KiB) Viewed 2468 times
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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by Panacanthus »

The "Spiny Lobster" Katydid from Peru. Panoploscelis specularis. Amazing predatory species. All of these photos are of the same male and female.

PS IN 1.jpg
PS IN 1.jpg (598.4 KiB) Viewed 2467 times
PS IN 2 double.jpg
PS IN 2 double.jpg (674.61 KiB) Viewed 2467 times
PS IN 5 double.jpg
PS IN 5 double.jpg (730.53 KiB) Viewed 2467 times
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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by boghaunter1 »

:shock: :shock: Totally awesome Giant Katydid specimens, beautifully mounted, as usual, Panacanthus! Congrats on acquiring such a spectacular mini army of a usually underappreciated order of insects. All of these impressive giant Katydids are certainly "armed to the teeth" with protective spines on all their legs...

Your secret is finally out with livingplanet3's photos of your namesake avatar... :lol: . Hope we can see any specimens you have of "Panacanthus" & any others you care to share...

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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by livingplanet3 »

Panacanthus wrote: Fri Mar 24, 2023 4:30 am I don't know the name of these, but they are one of the rarest and most unusual pairs I have ever acquired. These are absolutely perfect specimens. All of the "notches" are natural mimicry. I haven't seen any of these spread but there appears to be a lot of yellow in the hindwings.

from Peru..
These are really remarkable! Looks like this might be a species in the genus Typophyllum?
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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by livingplanet3 »

Panacanthus wrote: Fri Mar 24, 2023 4:46 am The incredible and rather large "bronze armored" cricket - Bradyporus dasypus from Macedonia. First photo is my own, second photo is from the internet, to show size...
WOW - had not heard of this cricket before! I wouldn't have expected a large, metallic species like this to exist in Macedonia - it looks so tropical.
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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by livingplanet3 »

Another large leaf-mimicking katydid, Ancyclecha fenestrata (Malaysia) -

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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by Panacanthus »

livingplanet3 wrote: Fri Mar 24, 2023 6:10 pm
Panacanthus wrote: Fri Mar 24, 2023 4:30 am I don't know the name of these, but they are one of the rarest and most unusual pairs I have ever acquired. These are absolutely perfect specimens. All of the "notches" are natural mimicry. I haven't seen any of these spread but there appears to be a lot of yellow in the hindwings.

from Peru..
These are really remarkable! Looks like this might be a species in the genus Typophyllum?
I have honestly never attempted to identify these, but yes, after doing a search for Typophyllum, it appears to be T. bolivari! However, the females shown for this species look a bit different than mine. Either my female is a different species or they just vary this much in wing shape. Most females don’t seem have such extreme “notching” and scalloping. The males sure look like mine though, and their photos are more abundant.

Will have to do some more research when I can be at home on the computer!
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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by Panacanthus »

boghaunter1 wrote: Fri Mar 24, 2023 4:50 pm Your secret is finally out with livingplanet3's photos of your namesake avatar... :lol: . Hope we can see any specimens you have of "Panacanthus" & any others you care to share...

John K.
Lol, I was wondering if anyone would catch that! What’s funny is that although I do have some specimens of Panacanthus, I have yet to spread them! They are quite difficult to obtain with good color. Many sellers show images of their specimens which they took right after capture. Then you receive the specimen dried, and most of the green is gone! I think these should probably be opened up and stuffed, then dried quickly, for better color retention.
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Re: Colorful Rare Orthopterans

Post by livingplanet3 »

Panacanthus wrote: Fri Mar 24, 2023 5:24 am The "Spiny Lobster" Katydid from Peru. Panoploscelis specularis. Amazing predatory species. All of these photos are of the same male and female...
Rather reminiscent of the giant wētās (Deinacrida spp.) of New Zealand (below), though perhaps less bulky, but even more spiny! -

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