when is a leaf, not a leaf?

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One of the groups of singing summertime insects we looked at last Saturday night at the Sugarlands were the katydids. On a nighttime walk to Cataract Falls we heard lots of common true katydids calling from the treetops on our trip back. katy-did-it, katy-did-it, katy-did-it 

There are many different species of katydid, so its a design and lifestyle that is successful. Most species do not fly or fly very little. Instead, they walk or hop to wherever they want to go. Being in the order Orthoptera like grasshoppers and crickets, they are excellent jumpers. 

Common true katydids tend to live high in the canopy and are also utterly defenseless to anything that will eat an insect and many things including birds do. So perhaps the most noted trait of the katydids is their ability to blend in, their camouflage. They are excellent foliage mimics.

Even if you have a bug-phobia, it is simply hard to look at a walking leaf and not smile.  

Thank you, Dana with the Great Smoky Mountains Association for inviting us to walk in your woods. 

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