Invertebrate Discoveries

An insect-hunting katydid from the Atewa Range Forest Reserve of Ghana
© CI/Piotr Naskrecki
Insect-hunting Katydid

This highly unusual katydid is a fast, skillful hunter that chases and devours insects, such as treehoppers and small moths. Its reproductive biology is nothing like any other katydid – instead of laying eggs in the soil or tree the way all other katydids do, females of this species produce seed-shaped eggs that drop to the ground from trees. Their highly specialized shape indicates that they are then collected by ants and hatch in their nests.

Scientific Name

Amyttosa insectivora

Where

Found in the highland rainforest of the Atewa Range and surrounding areas, Ghana, West Africa

When

Discovered during a RAP expedition in June 2006

Field Notes

Several large populations in southeast Ghana, no immediate threat to survival

Finder

Piotr Naskrecki (Conservation International)

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