Monday, July 06, 2015

Why is this katydid here?

Okay, here's a strange one. Erika, when I was on the phone with her a few hours ago, was mentioning an unusual green bug that showed up at her apartment in Burnaby this evening; in fact, she spotted it while we were on the phone. We'd had a pretty cool scarab sighting at her kitchen window the other week, which enabled me to relate the tale of Jung and the scarab. I asked her if the green bug was a lacewing, and she said no, it wasn't something she'd seen before.

I left it at that, but now I'm thinking, maybe it was a katydid? I wouldn't normally have suggested a katydid, because I've never seen one in BC before. There were some huge ones in Japan, but to my knowledge, katydids just aren't something we HAVE in British Columbia.

Tell that to the katydid on my computer monitor right now! I got out of bed about fifteen minutes ago, disturbed by weird subsonic thumping sounds, needing to pee, and kind of hungry. I put on raisin toast, came to my computer, and - lo and behold, discovered a smallish katydid sitting on my screen. He's still there as I type this.

Maybe there are katydids somewhere in BC that are being displaced by wildfires currently burning?Maybe Erika's green bug was a katydid, too?

He's cleaning his front feet with his mouth as I type this. I guess I'm just going to leave him where he is, let him find his own way out if he so chooses.

Hello, katydid. Thanks for dropping by.





2 comments:

Allan MacInnis said...

Well, I blogged the katydid, Facebooked the katydid, briefly video'd the katydid - and then he did a fast trek around my computer monitor, apparently looking for somewhere less high-profile to hang out. After a few seconds, I decided to take action: first I offered him (or her) some water, since a katydid fleeing a traumatizing wildfire might be thirsty - then I got my spatula and brought the katydid - confused by the transport, and rapidly crawling from one end of the implement to the next - over to my houseplants, where it is more likely the katydid will be comfortable. "See, it's green, like you!" I said, dislodging him (her, it) onto my jade. Hopefully he/ she/ it doesn't eat everything in sight...

Allan MacInnis said...

Eek, what if the subsonic rumblings that woke me were the drummings of a drumming katydid? I've now moved him (her, it) closer to my bed!

http://alienspecies.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/eng/species/drumming-katydid