Now that we have obtained a stable culture of Mediterranean Katydids (Phaneroptera nana) we decided to do some experimenting with them, similar to what we have done with our Mexican Bush Katydids (Scudderia mexicana). We tried feeding them with various foods such as flower pollen, honey, and dead fruit flies! Because most Orthoptera are generally flexible with host plants unlike many members of Lepidoptera, and since most "herbivorous" katydids are actually omnivorous (some katydids are actually strictly carnivorous too) we decided to do some experimenting with our thirteen newly collected P. nana specimen. We have also conducted food experimentation on the native Mexican Bush Katydid so we decided to give it a shot and see whether the two species have similar preferences! Our first test was to see whether P. nana would readily accept apple (Malus domestica) or plum (Prunus spp.) leaves since this is what we primarily feed our S. mexicana. When we left the leaves in our P. nana enclosure overnight, there seemed to be little feeding activity on the leaves, but the katydids did accept the flowers we offered them -- Purple Morning Glory (Ipomoea purpurea) and pink Rose (Rosa spp). Not too surprising since we found most of them on a Purple Morning Glory vine, but it was definitely something worth noting. After this, we performed a series of basic food tests out of curiosity. 1. Pollen, Pine (Asian Pinus spp.) and Blue Hibiscus (Alyogyne huegelii?) Because pollen is extremely nutrient dense due to the fact that most plants expend a considerable amount of resources towards reproduction, it is rich in many nutrients and is about 40% protein. We tried feeding some nymphs pine pollen that we ordered online (sourced from Asia) that was removed from the flower and with the cell-walls cracked. While they did not eat the pine pollen on their own accord, they did not refuse it when prompted (placed near the mouth using a toothpick, but not forcibly fed). On the other hand, whole pollen grains still attached to freshly picked Blue Hibiscus flowers were completely eaten after being placed in the enclosure for a day. We also observed pollen eating from various flowers including Blue Hibiscus by S. mexicana, so we concluded that they do like it and it would be a good idea to use flowers with high pollen content. Needless to say, it wouldn't hurt because katydids probably encounter plenty of pollen in the wild. 2. Honey, harvested from Manuka trees (Leptospermum scoparium) Honey is essentially nectar (and a substantial amount of pollen) that has been processed through the bee's digestive system where it is modified by enzymes. It is comprised primarily of the fruit sugars -- glucose, fructose, and sucrose -- that may or may not be appealing to katydids. In any case, we used a toothpick to prompt our P. nana nymphs to feed on a high quality (10+) store-bought Manuka honey. We also tried to stick the honey to their bodies since they habitually clean themselves with their mouthparts and would likely eat it if we put it there. But similar to the pollen test, they did not seem to actively enjoy being fed from a toothpick though they readily accepted it. 3. Dead Fruit Flies (Drosophila hydei) We culture D. hydei fruit flies for feeding our European Mantis (Mantis religiosa). We found previously that S. mexicana really has an appetite for freshly killed fruit flies and seemed quite clearly omnivorous in nature. When we tried to feed fruit flies to P. nana, they did seem to have an affinity for it and would willingly eat it on their own accord if dead flies were left in the enclosure. However, we didn't see them gobble them up like our S. mexicana does, but perhaps it was because our P. nana were much smaller in size. At the same time, we noted a critical difference between the head sizes between the two species. P. nana's head is proportionally much smaller compared to the body compared to S. mexicana and therefore has smaller and less powerful food-tearing mandibles (also supported by the fact that they prefer softer flower petals over leaves). We think that P. nana is probably not carnivorous in nature. - Brian
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Timeline 2012–2017
Albany, California This timeline is a series of daily posts recording our observations on and experiences with various insects in Albany California and surrounding areas, from 2012-2017. Since we did not publish this site until 2016, posts before that were constructed retroactively. Starting in August 2017, we moved to Ithaca, New York; posts from there on can be viewed at Timeline 2017-present: Ithaca, New York. Archives (1,011)
August 2017 (49) July 2017 (121) June 2017 (79) May 2017 (77) April 2017 (91) March 2017 (35) February 2017 (12) January 2017 (10) December 2016 (12) November 2016 (26) October 2016 (49) September 2016 (84) August 2016 (94) July 2016 (99) June 2016 (53) May 2016 (21) April 2016 (4) January 2016 (1) August 2015 (3) July 2015 (3) June 2015 (2) June 2014 (3) May 2014 (1) April 2014 (3) March 2014 (3) December 2013 (2) November 2013 (2) October 2013 (5) September 2013 (11) August 2013 (15) July 2013 (9) June 2013 (5) May 2013 (4) April 2013 (3) March 2013 (2) February 2013 (3) January 2013 (2) December 2012 (2) November 2012 (1) October 2012 (2) September 2012 (2) August 2012 (5) July 2012 (1) June 2012 (1) Authors
![]() ![]() Full Species List (Alphabetical by scientific name) Note: - Not every species we encounter is necessarily presented on this site, rather a selection of those that were of particular interest to us and that we felt were worth documenting. - We can't guarantee that all species have been identified accurately, particularly taxa we are not as familiar with. Lepidoptera Actias luna Adelpha californica Agraulis vanillae Allancastria cerisyi Antheraea mylitta Antheraea polyphemus Anthocharis sara Argema mimosae Attacus atlas Battus philenor hirsuta Bombyx mori Caligo atreus Callosamia promethea Coenonympha tullia california Citheronia regalis Cricula trifenestrata Danaus plexippus Eacles imperialis Erynnis tristis Estigmene acrea Eumorpha achemon Eupackardia calleta Furcula cinereoides Heliconius erato Heliconius hecale Heliconius sapho Heliconius sara Hyalophora cecropia Hyalophora columbia Hyalophora euryalus Hylephila phyleus Hyles lineata Junonia coenia Langia zenzeroides formosana Lophocampa maculata Manduca sexta Morpho peleides Nymphalis antiopa Orgyia vetusta Orthosia hibisci quenquefasciata Pachysphinx modesta Papilio cresphontes Papilio eurymedon Papilio glaucus Papilio machaon oregonius Papilio multicaudata Papilio polyxenes asterius Papilio rumiko Papilio rutulus Papilio zelicaon Phyciodes mylitta Phyciodes pulchella Pieris rapae Plejebus acmon Poanes melane Polites sabuleti Polygonia satyrus Pyrgus communis Rothschildia jacobaeae Samia cynthia advena Samia ricini Smerinthus cerisyi Smerinthus ophthalmica Strymon melinus Trichoplusia ni Uresephita reversalis Vanessa annabella Vanessa atalanta Vanessa cardui Unidentified Lepidoptera Hybrids Papilio glaucus × Papilio rutulus Papilio polyxenes asterius × Papilio zelicaon Orthoptera Melanoplus devastator Phaneroptera nana Pristoceuthophilus pacificus Scudderia mexicana Trimerotropis pallidipennis Phasmatodea Carausius morosus Phyllium giganteum Mantodea Mantis religiosa Phyllocrania paradoxa Hymenoptera Apis mellifera Bombus vosnesenskii Brachymeria ovata Linepithema humile Pediobius sp. Polistes dominula Xylocopa varipuncta Unidentified Diptera Lucilia sericata Unidentified Hemiptera Brochymena sp. Leptoglossus sp. Nezara viridula Odonata Argia vivida Libellula croceipennis Coleoptera Coccinella septempunctata Cycloneda polita Diabrotica undecimpunctata Hippodamia convergens Araneae (Class: Arachnida) Araneus diadematus Phidippus johnsoni |