Katydid: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

Katydids
Katydid on winged sumac, Hemingway, South Carolina
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Orthoptera Family: Tettigoniidae
Subfamilies
see text

Katydid is the common American name of insects belonging to the grasshopper family Tettigoniidae which contains several thousands of species.

Also known as "long horned grasshoppers" and "bush crickets", of the Tettigoniids the term "katydid" is more generally applied to those species that exhibit particularly deep forewings, such as those of the genus Pterophylla (literally "winged leaf").

The males have noise-producing (stridulating) organs located on their front wings which create a sound supposedly like "Katy did, Katy didn't", hence the name.

Katydids are common in the Eastern United States.

Subfamilies

• Family Prophalangopsidae - Hump-winged grigs
• Family Tettigoniidae
  • Conocephalinae - Meadow katydids
  • Copiphorinae - Coneheaded katydids
  • Meconematinae - Quiet-calling katydids
  • Phaneropterinae - False katydids
  • Pseudophyllinae - True katydids
  • Saginae - Stick katydids
  • Tettigoniinae - Shield-backed katydids