Homeless in Vancouver: Katydids seem to be real shutterbugs

Saturday morning (August 19) I was half-dozing in my parkade sleeping spot and out of the corner of one sleepy eye I thought I saw, perching lightly on my right elbow. a little, lime green, drumming katydid.

I opened both eyes to get a good look and yes–I did! I did see a katydid!

A curious and friendly sort of cricket pays another visit

While I slowly fumbled for my camera with my left hand, I watched as the harmless and handsome little insect explored up down and around my forearm.

Not for the first time I marvelled at the almost otherworldly luminescent green of a katydid, as well as the apparent lack of any skittishness or concern, frankly, for its own safety.

Back in 2014, in the same parkade, I had two visits from a drumming katydid; first on July 28th and again on July 31st.

At first, I did not know what I was seeing and helpful readers of this blog confirmed that it was a North American drumming katydid (Meconema thalassinum)—a kind of cricket, in fact.

By the second appearance, knowing what I was looking at, I focused my attention (and my camera) on the delicate beauty and apparently curiosity of the katydid, not to mention the fearlessness (or perhaps friendliness?) that it displayed by bounding up and parking itself, mere inches away from me.

I was struck by the way Saturday morning’s katydid visitor did exactly what the two previous visiting katydids…did, namely, get right up in my face, as it were, and stop—as if waiting for something.

Lucky for me the katydid again waited long enough for me to take one or two almost decent closeup photographs before it lightly bounded away and out of sight.

Till we meet again I guess.