We haven’t heard from Lou Jost in Ecuador for a while, but he came through this week with some pictures of a spectacular tropical katydid; probably a new species. His notes are indented:
This is most definitely NOT in the your “Spot-the-*” series! Both a male and female of this ornate katydid came to a collecting light at our Rio Zunac scientific station in the Amazon foothills of eastern Ecuador two weeks ago. These were nothing like slow-moving leaf-mimic katydids; they were fast on the ground, quick to take wing, agile in the air, and very eager to use their bright yellow “jaws” to bite down hard on anything that bothered them, especially my fingers. Whenever they took offense at something I did, they would flash their bright underwing pattern at me and spread their silvery blue wings. They escaped and had to be recaptured many times.
I kept them alive for two weeks, photographing them like crazy. They were difficult subjects; I kept them in a mosquito net in my house and would go into the net with them to photograph, so they couldn’t escape. After a while they stopped worrying about me. When they passed away I mounted them in their threat display attitude and photographed them some more (the shots with a white background, and the microscopic detail shots).
These belong to the genus Moncheca. It is closest to M. elegans but the colors don’t match the only expert-certified M elegans photos on the internet.
I include a picture of the male genitalia which, as you know, are often the main distinguishing feature of insect species. Non-matching genitals leave no chance for crossbreeding, hence indicate good biological species.
Most of these were taken with an Olympus PEN F camera and 60mm macro lens using focus-stacking. The higher magnification pictures were taken with a microscope objective mounted on a telephoto lens on the PEN F.
Amazing pics!
Stunning coloration. Thank you!
Wow! Those are so cool!
I bet they don’t taste very nice.
Super pics!
Another day, another jaw-dropping set of photos… Thanks Lou and Jerry!
Thank you!
Ooooh, my. Lou, that is totally cool. A great find and wonderful pictures.
Given their display, do you think they are using warning colors?
Mark, I was back in the field yesterday and did not see your question until today, sorry. I think these colors are meant to startle predators. They might not be honest signals. The brightest colors are hidden when the katydid is not alarmed, and this makes me suspect that the insect is not poisonous. But it can do real damage with those big jaws, so maybe the warning colors aren’t entirely bluff.
Hum, red, blue, and yellow. Lou, aren’t those the colors of the Ecuadoran flag? And the flag bears an emblem with a white snow-covered mountain in the middle. Moncheca ecuadorensis? I hear the politics of rainforest conservation beckoning.
Good idea, I hadn’t thought of that!
So gorgeous! What about the call? Did they produce any sounds?
It never called during the time that I had it.
Great pics, Lou! Thanks for sharing. What kind of camera/lens do you use?
I’m very curious about the additional news. Are you hiring? (A guy can dream.)
I just noticed the camera type and lens are listed after the last photo. If that was there when I asked, I apologize for not reading more carefully.
Jaxkayaker, the news is exciting but has to wait a bit…
The camera information was there, but I’d be happy to give more details if something is not clear. I am enamored with focus-stacking!
These pictures were just spectacular. I rarely comment on the wildlife photos, even though it’s one of my favorite parts of WEIT–but just to be clear, I and many others are reading/looking at these, just like the science posts!
Wow! What a spectacular insect! Great use of macro.
Thank you!
Spectacular
Very striking.
My wife says these katydids with big jaws are mimics that call other katydids by mimicking their songs, and then eat those that respond. Maybe Lou knows if that’s the case with this one?
I know that many conehead katydids are predators, but I don’t know anything about what these eat, except that it did munch some flowers.
Great work, Lou. Thank you for sharing them, Jerry.
I wonder if Lou has discovered a new species, one that will bear his name.
I hope!
What a gorgeous critter! Quite spectacular!
I can’t think of what to say. Great imaging. Great biology.
Thanks rickflick!
A question for Lou; what is that protuberance between the antennae?
I don’t really know what it is, but it appears to have two simple white ocelli, one on either side, presumably for sensing light and dark. There is a third simple (ie non-compound) ocellus in the middle of the head, facing forward. This group of katydids generally has a protuberance or cone there.
Alas, the katydid found in NZ is all-green, though as an inquisitive kid I was never bitten by one, so maybe more friendly.
Wow, what a cool katydid. Reminds me of the Minnesota Vikings colors. They should make it their sub-mascot. 🙂
I never knew katydids could be so colorful. I’ve also never thought about insects’ genitalia being used to distinguish species.
The coloration is amazing. What is known about it’s origin. Is it’s adaptive value suspected or confirmed?
The flash of bright red and yellow and blue when disturbed probably scares many predators, but we don’t know the details.
Excellent photos!
Those are by far the most spectacular bush crickets I have ever seen. Thank you.
My pleasure; thanks to Jerry for airing them.