Katydid Territory

 

I used to have a large clump of lemongrass in the back 40, and it attracted lots of katydids, specifically Scudderia furcata, forktailed bush katydid.  The females of this species lays the eggs between the layers of tissue along the edge of a leaf.  Wide fairly stiff grass blades seem to be an ideal site for egglaying, so I wasn't surprised to see this female katydid nymph among the pennisetum.  But I was delighted to catch her in the last stage of molting. 





View from above is the moment she finally pulled free of her old exoskeleton.

The last photo is the katydid post molt the following day with her new skeleton all hardened and the morning sun rising beyond the grass clump.