Baker’s tree cricket
An adult male Oecanthus bakeri tree cricket. Note the pale coloring, the darkened stains along the veins in the wings, and the black slashes on the hind femurs.
An adult female Baker’s tree cricket.
A nymph. Note the reddish strip down the center. This is common in species in the varicornis group – but those species generally have red or pink color at the base of the antennae.
A male singing This species was generally found on ground vegetation.
Same male singing in west-central Nicaragua. He is barely visible in the center of the photo.
This species was named for Charles Fuller Baker. In 1905, he described a new species that he named Oecanthus marcosensis – based on the location of San Marcos, Nicaragua. Beginning in 1932, its status was questioned – thinking it was perhaps a color form of Oecanthus varicornis. These tree crickets found in Nicaragua (near the location of San Marcos), fit the description offered by Baker (although Baker’s description fit for a brown form individual). Since it could not be proven these were indeed the tree crickets Baker described back in 1905, it was decided to name Oecanthus bakeri after him.
To read Baker’s description of Oecanthus marcosesis: https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/47188#page/89/mode/1up