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Pycnopalpa bicordata
Insects in the family Tettigoniidae are called "Katydids." I belive "Zombie Katydid" would be more fitting for this one. It looks like it's straight out of The Night of the Living Dead Katydids. When I first saw it on my computer I thought I had a katydid that had acid thrown on it or in the process of being eaten alive by some fungus or mold. It was about 5-6 cm long. The entire head, thorax and legs are a juicy cream color resembling something in an advanced stage of decomposition. The wings are green with several mimic holes resembling a decomposing leaf. On the top of the thorax are mirror-image green hearts (more obvious in the 5th foto). While I haven't been able to find much on this particular species, most katydids are nocturnal and many use mimicry and/or camouflage, having the appearance of living or dead leaves.
This dead leaf mimic katydid has been registered from Mexico, most of Central America, Colombia and Brazil. The bottom link in the reference box also puts it in Ecuador. These individuals were seen under a light on a building in the Amazon rainforest of SE Ecuador (700 masl) at 23h00 hrs.
Taking pictures with a flash at night, I didn't even notice the bizarre look until I downloaded the pictures on my computer. I went back out but they were already gone. I assumed I had two different poses of the same katydid, but again, looking on the computer, it is obvious I have two separate katydids. I've never seen anything like them, and then two within minutes of each other. Definitely the strangest (grossest) appearing insects I have seen. Katydids eat mostly leaves and grass, but they've been known to eat fruit and a few tiny insects, such as aphids. In large numbers they can become serious pests.
Spotted on Apr 28, 2019
Submitted on Apr 28, 2019
14 Comments
Looks like a leaf🍁🍂
What the?!??????!!!
Ewwwwwwwwwwww
Thanks Neil. I don't imagine too many want mates that are better looking than themselves, so it's probably okay :-)
Ready for Halloween. That is such a bizarre animal. Excellent notes and photos, Tukup. I did a search online, and his mates don't look much better :-/
Yes. The first one (fotos #1-4) is much more "fungal" looking than the last one. I haven't been able to find out much about them. The picture on Wiki is as severe as the one I picture, but it looks dry, whereas mine looks . . . . juicy :-)
Especially like the last shot, where it looks so much like a leaf. It would be interesting to learn more about this species and whether many of them have the "fungal look".
Thanks Sergio. I was thinking the same thing until I saw the second one with many of the same markings, just not so severe. We may never know. I can't imagine that he had a fungus and got better. But he seemed to be okay when I took the picture.
Thanks Mauna. VERY interesting :-)
Congrats on the SOTW nomination, Tukup! Very interesting.
Great spotting Tukup. I suspect that the first katydid (photos #1 to #4) got a serious fungal infection. Notice the difference on the aspect of the two specimens. And welcome to the "Strange Katydids World". I got some pretty weird ones.
Thanks again Daniele. This has to be the strangest spotting I've ever had. I appreciate the nomination.
Your spotting has been nominated for the Spotting of the Week. The winner will be chosen by the Project Noah Rangers based on a combination of factors including: uniqueness of the shot, status of the organism (for example, rare or endangered), quality of the information provided in the habitat and description sections. There is a subjective element, of course; the spotting with the highest number of Ranger votes is chosen. Congratulations on being nominated a second time this week Tukup!
Thanks Brian. Definitely a first for me.
Wow! Awesome spotting Tukup!