Don’t get me wrong, I am still pretty grossed out by bugs, but honestly the grasshoppers aren’t that bad! And apparently, as proven in the above photo, they can be kind of cute! So since my last post we have done some more collecting trips and a lot more research. After only 2 losses (the weird unknown bug and one small katydid), we are now up to: 11 two-striped grasshoppers (3 that are now adults!), 7 Roesel’s katydids (all are now adults!), and 2 unknown green bugs that may or may not be the same as the one that didn’t make it. We still would like at least one more species so we can have a decent comparison. Hopefully on our next trip out (Friday) we can find something new. In the meantime, now that we have some adults (and we know only adults make sound) we can begin our experiments.

Our main problem at the moment? We are having a VERY hard time telling male and female grasshoppers apart. The katydids are easy peasy, but the grasshoppers look pretty darn similar. Since there is conflicting data on whether or not the females even make sounds, we would really like to know…if anyone out there is an expert on grasshopper gender identification, feel free to stop on by!

We have recorders set up, we have bugs making noise and we are taking notes. Stay tuned!