Tettigoniidae

Taxobox
name = Tettigoniidae
fossil_range=Carboniferous - Recent

---

image_caption = Great green bush-cricket
("Tettigonia viridissima")
image_width = 220px
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Insecta
ordo = Orthoptera
subordo = Ensifera
superfamilia = Tettigonioidea
familia = Tettigoniidae
familia_authority = Krauss, 1902
subdivision_ranks = Subfamilies
subdivision =
*Acridoxeninae
*Agraeciinae
*Austrosaginae
*Bradyporinae
*Conocephalinae
*Copiphorinae
*Decticinae
*Ephippigerinaeit has sex every night at 12'00
*Hetrodinae
*Lipotactinae
*Listroscelidinae
*Meconematinae
*Mecopodinae
*Microtettigoniinae
*Phaneropterinae
*Phasmodinae
*Phyllophorinae
*Pseudophyllinae
*Saginae
*Tettigoniinae
*Tympanophorinae
*Zaprochilinae

The family Tettigoniidae, known in American English as katydids and in British English as bush-crickets, contains more than 6,400 species. It is part of the suborder Ensifera and the only family in the superfamily Tettigonoidea. They are also known as long-horned grasshoppers, although they are more closely related to crickets than to grasshoppers.

Tettigoniids may be distinguished from grasshoppers by the length of their antennae, which may exceed their own body length, while grasshoppers' antennae are always relatively short.

The name "katydid" comes from the sound produced by species of the North American genus "Pterophylla" (literally "winged leaf"). The males of katydids have sound-producing organs (via stridulation) located on the hind angles of their front wings, which in some species produce a [http://buzz.ifas.ufl.edu/141a.htm sound] thought to resemble the words "Katy did, Katy didn't", hence the name. In some species females are also capable of stridulation.

There are about 255 species in North America, but the majority of species live in the tropical regions of the world.

The diet of tettigoniids includes leaves, flowers, bark, and seeds, but many species are exclusively predatory, feeding on other insects, snails or even small vertebrates such as snakes and lizards. Some are also considered pests by commercial crop growers and are sprayed to limit growth. Large katydids can inflict a painful bite or pinch if handled but seldom break the skin.

The spike headed katydid is somewhat notorious for its plantlike appearance, which allows it to blend in with the vegetation on which it lives, and the spikes discourage potential predators.

The males provide a nuptial gift for the females in the form of a spermatophore, a nutritious body produced with the males' ejaculate.The katydid is a leaf-like insect which camouflages on leaves. The eggs of katydids are oval shaped and laid in branches and are laid in lines.

Photo gallery

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External links

* [http://www.cirrusimage.com/orthoptera_katydid.htm Bush katydid genus "Scudderia" Stål, 1873 - diagnostic photographs, natural history]
* [http://www.cirrusimage.com/orthoptera_katydid_Conocephalus.htm Black-sided meadow katydid - "Conocephalus nigropleurum" - diagnostic photographs]
* [http://bugguide.net/node/view/164 BugGuide.net--family "Tettigoniidae "]
* [http://buzz.ifas.ufl.edu/index.htm Singing Insects of North America (SINA) website.]
* [http://bugguide.net/node/view/32354 Bug guide.net-- Pink Katydid]
* [http://buzz.ifas.ufl.edu/katydids.htm North American Katydids, with range maps and audio files of katydid songs.]