JUL 31 – Videos About Tree Crickets – on YouTube
Part 1:
Tree Crickets Part 1 – YouTube
Part 2:
Tree Crickets Part 2 – YouTube
JUL 30 – 5th instar Neoxabea female
This nymph is preparing to molt. Note the swollen appearance of the wings.
JUL 29 – Early Metanotal Gland?
This looks like a late 3rd instar vs early 4th instar based on the length of the developing wings. Note the small dark area between the wings….this is the area where the metanotal gland will sit as an adult. I suspect it is indeed the early stages of the metanotal gland.
JUL 28 – Finding a Snowy Colony
These shrubs held numerous Snowy and Narrow-winged tree crickets.
The photos above show Snowy tree cricket nymphs.
JUL 27 – Neoxabea bipunctata Female Nymph
These two photos highlight the developing ovipositor of a female nymph.
JUL 26 – A Pair of Siblings
I call them siblings, but the truth is these could be offspring from two different females who oviposited on the same stem. These are Four-spotted nymphs. Although as adults they are very pale green and have a bit of black only on the distal ends of their limbs…as young nymphs they are yellowish with a wide brown strip down the center.
JUL 25 – Nymph on Hazelnut
This photo shows how tree crickets generally rest and thus are difficult to find. A mirror can be helpful – just use it to check the underside of leaves.
JUL 24 – Pine tree cricket nymph
Even at a very young age, the tone of ‘pine’ green of the limbs, and the tell-tale rust coloring of the head are evident.
JUL 23 – Random tiny nymph
I could probably figure out this species from my files (I wrote Day emerged 5-27 in 2017)….but it is so cute it doesn’t matter what species it is! It is nibbling on the Fluker’s cricket powder I always use to feed captives.
JUL 22 – Alexander’s tree cricket nymph
I expected Different-horned tree cricket nymphs to emerge from these holes (if anything would actually emerge), and was ecstatically surprised when it turned out to the Oecanthus alexanderi.
JUL 21 – Unsuccessful Emergence
Out of the over 100 holes on the two stems I kept indoors, only a handful were unable to get their limbs free. I don’t know why this happens. It’s always sad….I wish there was something I could do to help them. What is interesting with this one is that it died, and the caput fluidum had not absorbed into the body.
JUL 20 – Finding Antennae First
Sometimes I find antennae before ever seeing the tree cricket.
JUL 19 – First View of Developing Wings
This is the same individual posted on July 18 as a 3rd instar. After molting, we can see the developing wings. Note that the wings do not extend past halfway down the abdomen (that would be a 5th instar).
We can also see the exoskeleton. This tree cricket consumed the exoskeleton, and remained resting on this leaf for more than 10 hours.
JUL 18 – Early Wing Buds
One of the two young Narrow-winged nymphs found on July 17 seems to be a bit further in development. In this photo it was a 3rd instar. Note the two flared structures just distal to the pronotum. They match the diagram on B.B. Fulton’s Plate 1 here: s576lf15.pdf (orthsoc.org) (The after molt photos as a 4th instar will be posted tomorrow).
JUL 17 – Oecanthus niveus nymphs
I found two young Narrow-winged tree cricket nymphs on low hanging leaves of a large tree. They were both on the underside of a leaf, aligned with the center vein…thus blending it very well. They could easily be overlooked. I always wonder how many total individuals there are in a single tree.
I believe they are both 2nd instars.
JUL 16 – Neoxabea Nymphs
Although I have not encountered any Neoxabea bipunctata nymphs this season, I want to share photos from previous seasons. This first photo shows how small they are – that’s the bottom of a plastic drinking cup.
These show the areas where the wings develop.
JUL 15 – Looking Like a Big-Headed Toddler 😉
JULY 14 – Using Feelers
Now I know why we called insect antennae ‘feelers’ when we were kids. Watch how this little nymph uses his antennae, a.k.a. feelers, to check if it’s safe to go over the edge to the top.
JUL 13 – A Thirsty Nymph
I discovered this nymph at 2 a.m., and it was already missing its caput fluidum. Therefore, it had to have emerged prior to 1 a.m. That is an unusual time to emerge – in my experiences over the past 17 years. It might be drinking droplets of the newly spritzed water I provided later in the morning.
JUL 12 – Climbing to the Top
The very young nymphs that I have observed – emerging in captivity – always rest near the top of the stem pieces from which they emerged. Yet, as soon as I move them onto vegetation, they hide.
JUL 11 – Older Nymph
The dark color tells us this nymph is more than 24 hours old.
JUL 10 – Newest Nymph (Oecanthus forbesi)
Found at 6 a.m.
Just a couple of hours old, and already running and jumping.
JUL 9 – Two (?Three) Newish Nymphs on Vegetation
I was out of town overnight, so I left sprigs of vegetation in the aquarium so any newly emerged nymphs would have something to rest on. A few sprinkles of Fluker’s Cricket Powder and two Thirst Quencher cubes would keep them fed and hydrated until I returned.
I managed to see the antennae for one hiding on the other side of a leaf, then found another resting under another leaf. Not until I was reviewing cropped and enlarged photos did I realize there is probably a third nymph? Look for antennae in the first photo.
The third nymph.
JUL 8 – Video of the Moment of Release from Egg
No limbs are free at this point.
The front limbs are now free as it twists and turns.
The hind limbs are free and being used to continue tugging.
The moment of release from the egg.
JUL 7 – Another New Nymph Emerging
This nymph was found at 6 a.m. today – halfway out of the stem.
Tomorrow I will post video of this nymph’s emergence.
JUL 6 – Slightly Older Appearance
Although this nymph was found at 6 a.m., I know it had emerged prior to 5 a.m. because of the dark strip down the center with light defining the segments of the abdomen.
This video also shows the absence of the caput fluidum (watery bump) on the top of the head – meaning the fluid had already reabsorbed.
JUL 5 – King of the Hill
These tiny nymphs are both driven to stay high on this stem.
JUL 4 – Scampering Up a Stem with Elves Music 😉
SO DARN CUTE! This little critter emerged within the past 2 hours and is only 1/4 inch long (antennae not included – they add another 1/4 inch!)
JUL 3 – Emerging and Exploring
This morning there were four new nymphs on the two stems I have indoors. I find it very interesting that only one, two, three or four tend to pop out of a stem each day. Today, two nymphs were on one stem and two were on the other.
This first video shows the fourth nymph as he was tugging to get free of his egg in the stem.
In this second video, it is nearly out.
This last video shows the nymph free from the hole, while a slightly older nymph explores.
JUL 2 – Nymph Jumping
These tiny little stinkers are so darn difficult to see. Today I moved three outdoors…of which I believe only one emerged earlier today. The other two must have been hiding under the paper toweling. The new kid on the block is still more of a yellowish color, while the two older ones have a dark strip down the center. One of them may be one that I thought I released yesterday, but it could certainly have jumped off the stem as I was trying to slip it into a tall container for the transfer.
This video shows the younger one on the far left.
In this last video, I didn’t notice the younger one on the glass while I was trying to get the darker one on the daisy.
JUL 1 – So Young Yet So Fast
This first video shows the embryo/nymph stretching to free itself from the egg/stem.
This next video shows the nymph freeing itself and immediately scampering up the stem.
This photo shows the typical spot where the nymphs rest for the first hour of their life.
