Editing Tettigoniidae (section)

==Ecology==
[[File:Bellied bright bush-cricket (Poecilimon thoracicus) male.jpg|thumb|''[[Poecilimon thoracicus]]'' (Phaneropterinae)]] 
 
The diet of most tettigoniids includes [[leaves]], [[flowers]], [[bark (botany)|bark]], and [[seed]]s, but many species are exclusively [[predator]]y, feeding on other [[insect]]s, [[snail]]s, or even small [[vertebrate]]s such as [[snake]]s and [[lizard]]s. Some are also considered pests by commercial crop growers and are sprayed to limit growth, but population densities are usually low, so a large economic impact is rare.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tree of Life project|url=http://tolweb.org/Tettigoniidae|access-date=25 November 2013}}</ref>

Tettigoniids are serious insect pests of [[karuka]] (''Pandanus julianettii'').<ref name="French">{{cite book |last1=French |first1=Bruce R. |author-link=Bruce French (agricultural scientist) |title=Growing food in the Southern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea |date=1982 |publisher=AFTSEMU (Agricultural Field Trials, Surveys, Evaluation and Monitoring Unit) of the World Bank funded project in the Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea |pages=64–71 |url=https://docplayer.net/42672690-Growing-food-in-the-southern-highlands-province-of-papua-new-guinea-bruce-r-french.html |access-date=20 September 2018 |language=en |format=PDF}}</ref> The species ''[[Segestes gracilis]]'' and ''[[Segestidea montana]]'' eat the leaves and can sometimes kill trees.<ref name="French"/> Growers will stuff leaves and grass in between the leaves of the crown to keep insects out.<ref name="French"/>

By observing the head and mouthparts, where differences can be seen in relation to function, it is possible to determine what type of food the tettigoniids consume. Large tettigoniids can inflict a painful bite or pinch if handled, but seldom break the skin.

Some species of bush crickets are consumed by people, such as the ''[[nsenene]]'' (''Ruspolia differens'') in [[Uganda]] and neighbouring areas.

===Communication===
The males of tettigoniids have sound-producing [[organ (anatomy)|organs]] located on the hind angles of their front wings. In some species, females are also capable of stridulation. Females chirp in response to the shrill of the males. The males use this sound for courtship, which occurs late in the summer.<ref>{{cite book |title=Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia |page=1 |edition=6 |url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/katydid.aspx |access-date=10 December 2014}}</ref> The sound is produced by rubbing two parts of their bodies together, called [[stridulation]]. In many cases this is done with the wings, but not exclusively. One body part bears a file or comb with ridges; the other has the plectrum, which runs over the ridges to produce a vibration.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Robertson |first1=Laura |last2=Meyer |first2=John |title=Exploring Sound with Insects|journal=Science Scope|date=January 2010|volume=33 |issue=5|page=12 |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-216960409.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504170619/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-216960409.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2016-05-04}}</ref> For tettigoniids, the fore [[wings]] are used to sing. Tettigoniids produce continuous songs known as trills. The size of the insect, the spacing of the ridges, and the width of the scraper all influence what sound is made.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chapman |first1=R. F. |title=The Insects: Structure and function |isbn=978-0521113892 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |edition=5|year=2013 }}</ref>

Many species stridulate at a tempo which is governed by ambient temperature, so that the number of chirps in a defined period of time can produce a fairly accurate temperature reading. For American katydids, the formula is generally given as the number of chirps in 15 seconds plus 37 to give the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/cricket.html |publisher=U.S. Library of Congress |title=Can you tell the temperature by listening to the chirping of a cricket?}}</ref>

===Predation===
[[File:Wandering spider (Cupiennius getazi) with female katydid prey (Tettigoniidae sp.).jpg|thumb|Wandering spider (Cupiennius sp.) with ''Tettigoniidae sp.'' prey]]
Some tettigoniids have spines on different parts of their bodies that work in different ways. The Listroscelinae have limb spines on the ventral surfaces of their bodies. This works in a way to confine their prey to make a temporary cage above their mouthparts. The spines are articulated and comparatively flexible, but relatively blunt. Due to this, they are used to cage and not penetrate the prey's body. Spines on the tibiae and the femora are usually more sharp and nonarticulated. They are designed more for penetration or help in the defensive mechanism they might have. This usually works with their diurnal roosting posture to maximize defense and prevent predators from going for their head.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Montealegre|first1=Fernando|last2=Morris|first2=Glenn|title=The spiny devil katydids, ''Panacanthus'' Walker (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae): an evolutionary study of acoustic behaviour and morphological traits|journal=Systematic Entomology|date=24 Dec 2003|volume=29|issue=1|pages=29–57|doi=10.1111/j.1365-3113.2004.00223.x|s2cid=13692215}}</ref>

===Defense mechanisms===
[[File:Katydid india.jpg|thumb|Katydid [[mimicry|mimicking]] a leaf]]
[[File:Tribe Conocephalini - Meadow Katydids 2015-11-02-hawaii.webm|thumb|A [[Conocephalinae#Tribe Conocephalini|Meadow Katydids]] in [[Hawaii]]]]

When tettigoniids go to rest during the day, they enter a diurnal roosting posture to maximize their cryptic qualities. This position fools predators into thinking the katydid is either dead or just a leaf on the plant. Various tettigoniids have bright coloration and black apical spots on the inner surfaces of the [[tegmina]], and brightly colored hind wings. By flicking their wings open when disturbed, they use the coloration to fool predators into thinking the spots are eyes. This, in combination with their coloration mimicking leaves, allows them to blend in with their surroundings, but also makes predators unsure which side is the front and which side is the back.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Castner|first1=James|last2=Nickle|first2=David|title=Notes on the biology and ecology of the leaf-mimicking katydid ''Typophyllum bolivari'' Vignon (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Pseudophyllinae: Pterochrozini)|journal=Journal of Orthoptera Research|date=August 2004|volume=4|pages=105–109}}</ref>

{{Quote box |width=240px |align=right |quoted=true |bgcolor=#FFFFF0 |salign=right
 |quote =<poem> 
'''''Katydid''''' 

I LOVE to hear thine earnest voice,
   Wherever thou art hid,
Thou testy little dogmatist,
   Thou pretty Katydid!
Thou mindest me of gentlefolks, -
   Old gentlefolks are they, -
Thou say'st an undisputed thing
   In such a solemn way. 

Thou art a female, Katydid!
   I know it by the trill
That quivers through thy piercing notes,
   So petulant and shrill.
I think there is a knot of you
   Beneath the hollow tree, -
A knot of spinster Katydids, -
   Do Katydids drink tea? 

O, tell me where did Katy live,
   And what did Katy do?
And was she very fair and young,
   And yet so wicked, too?
Did Katy love a naughty man,
   Or kiss more cheeks than one?
I warrant Katy did no more
   Than many a Kate has done.
</poem>|source =''From the "To An Insect" poem by [[Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.|Oliver Wendell Holmes]]''<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=kXd4bRr71a4C&dq=Oliver+Wendell+Holmes+Katydid&pg=PA356 ''A Library of Poetry and Song: Being Choice Selections from The Best Poets. With An Introduction by William Cullen Bryant''], New York, J.B. Ford and Company, 1871, pp. 356-357.</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=TiA7AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA9 ''The Poetical Works of Oliver Wendell Holmes''], Boston And New York, Houghton, Mifflin And Company, 1893, p. 9.</ref>}}

{{Quote box |width=240px |align=right |quoted=true |bgcolor=#FFFFF0 |salign=right
 |quote =<poem> 
'''''To A Katydid''''' 

LITTLE friend among the tree-tops, 
       Chanting low your vesper hymns,
               Never tiring, 
               Me inspiring, 
       Seated 'neath the swaying limbs, 
Do you know your plaintive calling, 
When the summer dew is falling, 
Echoes sweeter through my brain 
Than any soft, harmonic strain?

Others call you an intruder,  
       Say discordant notes you know; 
               Or that sadness, 
               More than gladness, 
       From your little heart doth flow; 
And that you awake from sleeping 
Thoughts in quiet they were keeping, 
Faithless love, or ill-laid schemes, 
Hopes unanchored — broken dreams.

No such phantoms to my vision 
       Doth your lullaby impart, 
               But sweet faces, 
               No tear traces, 
       Smile as joyous in my heart, 
As when first at mother's knee 
Learned I your sweet mystery. 
I defend you with my praises, 
For your song my soul upraises. 

Oft I fancy when your neighbors, 
       In some secret thicket hid, 
               Are debating, 
               Underrating 
       What that little maiden did, 
That above their clam'rous singing 
I can hear your accents ringing, 
Like a voice that must defend 
From abuse some time-loved friend. 

Dream I not of fame or fortune, 
       Only this I inward crave, 
               Sweet assurance, 
               Long endurance, 
       Of a love beyond the grave. 
Should my songs die out and perish, 
You'll my name repeat and cherish; 
Though all trace is lost of me, 
Still you'll call from tree to tree.
</poem>|source =''From the "To A Katydid" poem by [[Kate Slaughter McKinney]]''<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=1NUtAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA7 ''Katydid's Poems: With A Letter By Jno. Aug. Williams''], Courier-Journal Job Printing Company, 1887, pp. 7-8.</ref>}}