Thursday, July 29, 2010

Grasshopper Nymphs?

Maybe that's what these are.  I'm not exactly sure.  There are a few on each of my three citrus plants.  If they are young grasshoppers, I should really pick them off.  Technically, they're a pest.  They do eat foliage.  I see some foliage damage.  But...


They're so interesting, so outlandish when viewed from close up, that I think I'll just watch them for awhile.


Today and tomorrow, I'm at an AgriLife Extension Citrus Specialist training.  If they're not grasshopper nymphs, I should be able to find out what they are.  I'm also hoping to get some good pictures!

Note:  My friend Victor advises me that these are juvenile katydids, members of the longhorned grasshopper family.  Their bodies widen considerably as they grow older.  Does that sound familiar?
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4 comments:

  1. VICTORFLAHERTYJuly 29, 2010 at 3:59 PM

    that is an immature katydid.

    ReplyDelete
  2. LauraBeeAugust 2, 2010 at 5:52 PM

    I like your attitude !

    ReplyDelete
  3. RebeccaAugust 5, 2010 at 11:23 AM

    I caught one the other day munching on my salvia. But then i took a moment to look at it and it was actually so cute I called my son down to look at him under the clear plastic cup in the kitchen. Well once we looked at his face I could not bring myself to "dispose" of him so he was walked to the bayou and released away from my garden.

    R

    ReplyDelete
  4. Elizabeth BarrowAugust 5, 2010 at 5:10 PM

    Update -- they're still there! Eating, but not too much. To tell you the truth, there are so many Cottony Cushion Scale on that citrus that the katydids can't possibly harm it!

    ReplyDelete