Suggest methods of catching katydids

[jamest0o0]

I'm set on getting a colony of these going. They are such a great feeder for chams. I caught 1 and have the cage set up, only have seen 2 or 3 large ones randomly at night. Saw a lot of babies earlier in the spring. Any suggestions on how to catch several of these before fall hits? Open to any input on caring for them, I'll post my enclosure. My one has been nibbling maple leaves and eating my thawed gutload mix. Misting daily.

 

[cham_urchin]

when you get a minute, please post a close-up of that guy. I'll be following this with great interest

 

[jamest0o0]

 

[snitz427]

I have a handful of small ones, but all different species of katydid. John and I might go hunting tomorrow... if we’re very successful we’ll bring some!

 

[jamest0o0]

Let me know how it goes! Seems I've found different species as well.

 

[Jevin]

Honestly from my experience with Katydids and Grasshoppers, the best way to catch them is once you find an area with multiple individuals, use your hands or a butterfly net to catch them and a container. I don't believe there is a surefire way to trap just Katydids.

 

[Jevin]

I could ID what species of Katydid it is and then give you a list of preferred food sources and best times to go looking for them.

 

[Kristen Wilkins]

I'm set on getting a colony of these going. They are such a great feeder for chams. I caught 1 and have the cage set up, only have seen 2 or 3 large ones randomly at night. Saw a lot of babies earlier in the spring. Any suggestions on how to catch several of these before fall hits? Open to any input on caring for them, I'll post my enclosure. My one has been nibbling maple leaves and eating my thawed gutload mix. Misting daily.

Come to cape cod you can just scoop them up with a cup . We have then everywhere .

 

[jamest0o0]

I could ID what species of Katydid it is and then give you a list of preferred food sources and best times to go looking for them.

That would be awesome, this one isn't picky at all so far. Eats any greens I put in and loves my frozen gutload mix.

 

[jamest0o0]

Come to cape cod you can just scoop them up with a cup . We have then everywhere .

Where are they usually hanging out???

 

[Kristen Wilkins]

Where are they usually hanging out???

Everywhere they seem to love the garden . Hunter had some In His room . Last year and this year we have a crazy amount .

 

[Brodybreaux25]

I'm set on getting a colony of these going. They are such a great feeder for chams. I caught 1 and have the cage set up, only have seen 2 or 3 large ones randomly at night. Saw a lot of babies earlier in the spring. Any suggestions on how to catch several of these before fall hits? Open to any input on caring for them, I'll post my enclosure. My one has been nibbling maple leaves and eating my thawed gutload mix. Misting daily.

Dude! How many posts have I made about this!?

 

[CamoChameleonsHuman]

Dude! How many posts have I made about this!?

I was just about to tag you

 

[Brodybreaux25]

First, don’t waste your time chasing these things around in the daytime. There are much better ways to go about this, both are crazy simple too.

Easiest way to catch a bunch is to go out into a field or woods about an hour after dark and spotlight them with a led headlight. You want to find some tall grass at least waist high or any other wild plants that can support their weight. Most of the ones we catch are between 3-6’ above ground so focus on scanning with your headlamp back and forth over that elevation. You don’t want to look for the shape of the katydid, you want to look for the bright green color, it really pops when the light hits it. You’ll see what I mean the first time you find one. You have to keep the headlamp directly on them, if you do that they will freeze and not run just like a deer in the headlights. You can literally walk right up to them and grab them off of a leaf, it’s almost unfair!

Another way is to use a light trap. This trap is far more effective with flying bugs like moths. Most nocturnal insects are drawn towards lights, a light trap uses this trait against them. All you need to do is go out to a wooded area or field and hang up a white bed sheet. Then take a black light flashlight and shine it on the sheet. Every bug in the area will start moving towards the sheet. it will take about 30min for a lot of them to actually make it to the sheet so I usually set this up first and then go spotlighting while waiting for the sheet to fill up.

 

[CamoChameleonsHuman]

First, don’t waste your time chasing these things around in the daytime. There are much better ways to go about this, both are crazy simple too.

Easiest way to catch a bunch is to go out into a field or woods about an hour after dark and spotlight them with a led headlight. You want to find some tall grass at least waist high or any other wild plants that can support their weight. Most of the ones we catch are between 3-6’ above ground so focus on scanning with your headlamp back and forth over that elevation. You don’t want to look for the shape of the katydid, you want to look for the bright green color, it really pops when the light hits it. You’ll see what I mean the first time you find one. You have to keep the headlamp directly on them, if you do that they will freeze and not run just like a deer in the headlights. You can literally walk right up to them and grab them off of a leaf, it’s almost unfair!

Another way is to use a light trap. This trap is far more effective with flying bugs like moths. Most nocturnal insects are drawn towards lights, a light trap uses this trait against them. All you need to do is go out to a wooded area or field and hang up a white bed sheet. Then take a black light flashlight and shine it on the sheet. Every bug in the area will start moving towards the sheet. it will take about 30min for a lot of them to actually make it to the sheet so I usually set this up first and then go spotlighting while waiting for the sheet to fill up.
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And don't flip your dune buggy!

 

[snitz427]

im gonna try “bush beating” tomorrow. They like to perch in trees and bushes and dont move much during the day... so you supposedly place a white sheet under a bush and shake it or whack it until bugs fall out. Walking around Baltimore parks late at night sounds like a way to get shot

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Doesn’t get easier than this.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

And don't flip your dune buggy!

Can-Am 570 XMR, but yeah, learned that lesson! Lol

 

[jamest0o0]

@Brodybreaux25 I was thinking of asking you, I didn't remember you specifically caught katydids. I know you did the light trap. I have woods behind my house, maybe I'll walk through there with a flashlight. Neighbors might be a bit confused lol

 

[Brodybreaux25]

@Brodybreaux25 I was thinking of asking you, I didn't remember you specifically caught katydids. I know you did the light trap. I have woods behind my house, maybe I'll walk through there with a flashlight. Neighbors might be a bit confused lol

Spotlighting is the way to go if your looking for a specific type of hopper. You can cover wayyyyy more ground with the headlights. Light trap is just luck of the draw. Both work but the spotlight is the way to go, no doubt.