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Friday, July 1, 2011

A cross between a grasshopper and a shrimp?


 Last fall we bought a couple of packages of California Poppy (Eschscholzia californicaseeds.  We spread them around our semi-landscaped front yard, and all over our not-landscaped and wild backyard.  We really like California poppies with their bright orange and golden colors.  They brighten up the hillsides and roadsides all around California in the springtime.  And best of all, they are a drought tolerant native plant that is tough and persistent, even in poor soil.

In early spring a couple of years ago, we drove to Yosemite, and along the way passed a hillside that was absolutely covered in poppies, completely orange, with very little green showing through.  The poppies are now in full bloom in our front yard, but the weeds still have the advantage in the backyard.

We are having some beautiful weather this week after a rather cool and wet spring, which has been good for our nascent garden. So the other morning I was wandering around our front yard with my camera.  I saw a bumble bee visiting some of the poppies, but I wasn't quick enough to get a photo of him.  As I looked closer, though, I did see a strange looking bug in one of the poppies and took these photos.  I was sure surprised when I viewed them on the computer and zoomed in.  A little spotted cricket?  It is less than an inch long, including the lobster-like antennas.  

A cross between a shrimp and a cricket?
I found a very similar looking bug on the bugguide.net website.  The expert there says it looks like the nymph of a katydid, probably a Scudder's bush katydid, maybe Scudderia furcata.  If you are an Orthoptera expert, please let us know if this is correct.

1 comment:

  1. Spotted in So Cal today.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/siamesepuppy/8563062329/in/photostream


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