This was another neat creature that I came across while visiting the Land of Lincoln. It is found in the tops of broad-leaved trees in the eastern United States, from Long Island to southern Illinois and eastern-most Texas.
The Lesser Angle-winged Katydid belongs to a subfamily called False Katydids. It doesn’t sing “Katy did, Katy didn’t,” like similar looking species. Instead, its song consists of two or three short rattles in sequence, often phrased in such a way that each rattle sounds like a comment in response to the preceding one.
The diet of most Katydids 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.
Mainly nocturnal, like its relative the Greater Angle-wings Katydid, it may be attracted to lights. When Katydids go to rest during the day, they enter a roosting posture to maximize their cryptic qualities. This position fools predators into thinking the insect is either dead or just a leaf on the plant.
It was neat to come across this cool and well-camouflaged creature while on my travels.