Katydids (Tettigoniidae)

Kecek or katydids or bush crickets (Tettigoniidae) is a family of insects in Orthoptera, recorded to have 6,400 species, active at night by loud mating calls, having mimicry and camouflage appearances generally with leaf-like shapes and colors.

Tettigoniid have a size of 5-130 mm, live in plants, very long antennae, often make noise at night during the rainy season and early summer, around one year old and females usually lay eggs at the beginning of rain and are placed underground or in plant holes.

The hind legs are longer than the front and middle legs which are often used for jumping. Some species can fly. Katydids eat leaves, flowers, bark and seeds, but many species are predators eating other insects, snails and small vertebrates.

Males have a sound-producing organ in the back corner of the front wing. The sound is produced by rubbing the two parts of the body together. Females are usually larger than males and have a long sharp structure at the tip of the abdomen which is an ovipositor for attaching eggs.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
Subclass: Pterygota
Order: Orthoptera
Suborder: Ensifera
Infraorder: Tettigoniidea
Superfamily: Tettigonioidea
Family: Tettigoniidae

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