Tettigoniidae

1 Tettigoniidae Breed Overview

The Katydid (Tettigoniidae) is known as the ‘king of singing insects,’ generally referring to the loud-singing male katydids of the family Tettigoniidae, including the Chinese bush cricket. The male has a sound organ near the forewings and produces sound by rubbing the two wings together. Aliases include Guoguo, Zhongsi, Youzi, and Jiaoying.

Chinese Name: Katydid

Alias: Zhongsi (Bush Cricket)

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Orthoptera

Suborder: Ensifera

Family: Tettigoniidae

Latin Name: Tettigoniidae

Named by and year: Krauss, 1902

2 Tettigoniidae Appearance

The Katydid has the title ‘king of singing insects’; generally it refers to the loud-singing male katydids of the family Tettigoniidae, including the Chinese bush cricket. Because it has a sound organ near the forewings, it produces sound by rubbing the left and right wings together. The male is 35-41 mm long, the female 40-50 mm. The whole body is bright green or yellow-green.

3 Tettigoniidae Living Environment

The Katydid is very widely distributed in China. By origin it is divided into northern and southern katydids; the northern includes Beijing, Hebei, Shandong, and Shanxi types. Catching is done by day or night – day catches fewer but finer insects; night catches more but coarser ones. The best singers have a single-number song.

4 Tettigoniidae Feeding Guidelines

The Katydid is called the ‘king of singing insects’; many carry one in summer, falling asleep to its song on summer nights. What should you watch when feeding one in captivity?

The Katydid is omnivorous, more carnivorous than herbivorous. In nature it mainly preys on insects and field pests, a guardian of the fields and a skilled catcher. Its food is varied – plant, insect, and mixed types. Plant foods include soybean, cabbage, rape, and carrot; insect foods include grasshoppers, cicadas, and mealworms; mixed foods include corn flour, soybean flour, and pumpkin flowers.