Bark Katydid

Description:

about 50mm long and strongly cryptic colouration resembling grey tree bark or lichen; the antennae, which are typically long in the katydids, was striped black and white. The underside of the abdomen held a surprise being vivid pink and yellow with black spots.

Habitat:

subtropical bushveld with hot erratically wet summers and mild dry winters

Notes:

I only found this fellow because he was trapped in the velcro like bristles of the grass Setaria verticellata. As it was still alive I extracted it from the clutches of the grass; one leg was lost somewhere along the line - I don't know if that was before or after my intervention. Once it had recovered I placed it on a nearby fence post (photo 5) where it rested for a while and then moved over the edge and settled on the side of the post (photo 6). It is lying, head upwards, over to the left of the post with its tail end almost touching the bottom of the frame. One can appreciate the effectiveness of the cryptic colouring from photo 6. I'm not sure about the species as apparently there are 6 similarly coloured species in the genus