Scudderia Katydid vs Mahoenui Giant Weta

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Scudderia Katydid Mahoenui Giant Weta
Scientific Name Scudderia furcata Deinacrida mahoenui
Order Orthoptera Orthoptera
Family Tettigoniidae Anostostomatidae
Size 30-38 mm Body 50-70 mm
Habitat Meadows Forests
Diet Seed Feeders Herbivores
Regions North America New Zealand
Conservation Least Concern Endangered

Scudderia Katydid

A slender, bright green fork-tailed bush katydid common in meadows and gardens. Its forked subgenital plate is a key identifying feature for males.

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Did You Know?

Female fork-tailed katydids lay their flat, oval eggs between the upper and lower surfaces of leaves, slicing the leaf open with a saw-like ovipositor.

Mahoenui Giant Weta

A critically threatened giant weta originally surviving in a single patch of introduced gorse scrub. It is brown with lighter banding and is largely arboreal.

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Did You Know?

Ironically, the invasive gorse bush has protected this weta from predators by providing spiny refuge.