Gallery Category: Orthoptera

Asian leaf grasshopper

Illustration of a brown and yellow grasshopper with spread wings. The forewings are a mottled brown, resembling a dead leaf.

Trigonopteryx hopei Distribution: South and Southeast Asia Size: 150mm wingspan Diet: Grass I love drawing insects that have such interesting camouflage, especially when they’re pretending to be plants. I also have a more green version of this (or a similar) species, which I intend to draw in the future. Watch this space. Take a closer […]

Crimson-winged Grasshopper

Illustration of a grasshopper with bright blue and pink wings

Phymateus saxosus Distribution: Africa, Somalia, Madagascar & India Size: 110mm wingspan Diet: Milkweed plants P.saxosus feeds on highly poisonous milkweed plants (Pervillaea venenata) and their vibrant red wings and yellow abdomen are an aposematic warning to predators not to eat them. They’re also able to secrete a toxic chemical, which emanates from their thoracic joint. […]

Dry-leaf Katydid

Illustration of a katydid with large wings. The upper wings are green and resemble a leaf

Mecopoda elongata Distribution: India, China, Korea, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia Size: 40+mm body, Overall length 120mm, Wingspan 120mm Diet: Leaves and other bugs Bush crickets in the subfamily Mecopodinae have tegmina (forewings) that resemble leaves. Like leaf insects and many other leaf mimics, this includes the ability to display brown edges and […]

Eastern Lubber Grasshopper

Illustration of a yellow grasshopper with small pink wings

Romalea microptera Location: Southeastern and South-central United States Size: 50 – 70mm Diet: All sorts of leaves What do you notice first, R.microptera’s beautiful yellow complexion or its bright pink wings? Let’s start with the wings – these are too small to allow for flight, so their purpose is more about defense. Flashing a bold […]

Malaysian Leaf Katydid

Illustration of a leaf-like katydid with large green upper wings and transparent lower wings

Ancylecha fenestrata Distribution: Malaysia Size: 70-75 mm body Diet: Various leaves Whilst not necessarily obvious when splayed out as in my illustration, these katydid’s are excellent leaf mimics. As with leaf insects, some may even have brown, irregular edges to their tegmina (forewings) which resemble the dying edges of leaves. Interestingly, first instar nymphs have […]