katy did it

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This has been a raucous season for katydids. In the evenings, their proclamations have been loud, loud, loud.

Katydids always remind me of Andy, the young son of a friend named Bill Gregg. Over 20 years ago, he looked at one with me and said, “It looks like a green weef.” Yes, they are wonderfully leaf like, such camouflage!

Also known as long-horned grasshoppers (a perfectly boring name and somewhat misdirected since they are more closely related to crickets), katydids look like green leaves—six-legged green leaves. They get their more common name from their song: either a rapid three or four part phrase: "ka-tee-dittttttt” or “ka-tee-dit-itttttttt."

As legend has it, they are debating the guilt or innocence of a young woman named Katy. It seems Katy was in love with a handsome young man, but he scorned her and married her prettier sister. (Not a smart move.) After the newlyweds returned from their honeymoon, they were found dead in their bed, poisoned.

Ever since that dark deed, the nocturnal insects have vociferously debated who killed the young couple, opining either "Katy did" or "Katy didn't," "Katy did" or "Katy didn't."

-photo taken at Ijams Nature Center

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