Drumming Was What Katy Did

As I was towelling myself after my morning shower I noticed the above sitting on my left breast. It would have been difficult to tog it in situ and probably NSFB. I transferred it to my lime green, glass, bathroom scales.

I thought at first that it was a Speckled Bush Cricket but it only had two black “polka dots” (to “fill my eye“) on its back. It’s an Oak Bush Cricket, known in the US as a Drumming Katydid. They’re carnivorous and live in trees. The males drum on the leaves with their hind feet. The sound can be heard by humans up to four metres away. They’re nocturnal and are attracted to lights. I’ve also read that, if infested by a certain parasite, that changes their behaviour and they become more attracted to water.

I was very interested to read that the first edition cover of Susan Coolidge’s What Katy Did features crickets, the title being a play on katydid. Evidently crickets got the name katydids for onomatopoeic reasons.

I got a sharper image but have posted this as the symmetry appeals to me.