Wednesday, November 14, 2012

not a bird

It's not a bird , but a cool insect. I did ask my bird friend...who knows also a lot about insects, what it was...here is the picture and his comment...
Your photo is a cool bug.
This is a 'bush cricket'. Same insect order....Orthoptera....as grasshoppers. Orthoptera has 2 sub-orders.
One is the 'grasshoppers' (and a few other groups) They all share one trait........short antennae, w/ the antennae 'stiff' in appearance.
The other sub-order contains 'bush crickets, crickets' (and a few other groups). They all have long antennae.
Bush crickets are almost strictly tropical............almost none in temperate climes. They can have, like your bug, VERY LONG antennae.  Many of the bush crickets are cool because they are SO CRYPTIC. This guy is usually found on tree limbs that are covered w/ whitish or greyish or gray-greenish epiphytic growth, like moss or lichen. I've usually come across this guy when I was cutting down, or cutting back, citrus trees that are unhealthy and slowly dying. The trees are covered w/ these mosses and lichens. If you put this guy on a branch like that, he just about 'disappears'. Of course, on a green leaf, like your photo, he really stands out. Check out how long his antennae are!!
Dan Wade  wrote this

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