Stats

Lifespan: A few months
Size: Medium
Diet: Herbivore
Activity: Nocturnal
Social: Solitary
Biome: Temperate grassland
Range: Mediterranean Basin
Movement: Hopping
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Camouflage
Status: Common

About

A slender, leaf-green katydid widespread across the Mediterranean and into Africa and Asia, its broad wings mimic foliage so closely it almost vanishes among leaves. Females insert eggs directly into plant tissue using a short, curved ovipositor — a habit that makes them a minor pest on ornamental plants.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A small egg is laid on or near the larval food source and hatches within days or weeks.
2.
juvenile
An immature insect feeds and molts, growing through successive instars.
3.
subadult
A near-adult insect has wing buds or near-mature form, one molt away from full size.
4.
adult
Fully grown, with full wings and adult coloration.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Orthoptera
Family: Tettigoniidae
Genus: Phaneroptera
Species: Phaneroptera nana