A Locust on a Fence

Tomorrow night Dallas should have its first freeze of the season. That means I’ve had a lot of work to do, including spraying and bringing in tender potted plants and digging up plants I planted in the spring and stuffing them in pots to be brought inside.

I did go out briefly to the lake today. Before I left, I noticed this female locust in my backyard.

Brown katydid resting on a chain-link fence in Dallas, TX

Yo.

She had been hanging out near a Brazilian rock rose but leaped onto the fence when I came too near. At first I thought she was a grasshopper. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a brown katydid before, although they are probably common. I’d like to see a red katydid, but without the devastation they can cause to oaks!

Katydid at Sunset Bay

Now that I’ve gotten used to searching for bugs, I do it everywhere. That means that when I’m walking around the lake, I’m not looking in front of myself or looking at my feet: I’m looking in the foliage for weird bugs.

During a break between watching the Northern Shoveler Boys at Sunset Bay, I noticed this male katydid perched on a colocasia leaf.

Katydid on a leaf at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Zoinks! Like, let’s get out of here!

He tried to escape by crawling under the leaf.

Katydid on a leaf at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Katydid, I can still look under the leaf and see you!

Then he seemed to remember that he had wings and flew away.