Greater Anglewing
Microcentrum rhombifolium
Its wings feature intricate details that mimic leaf veins, complete with small brown spots that resemble decaying plant tissue to fool predators.
- Scientific name
- Microcentrum rhombifolium
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Orthoptera › Tettigoniidae › Microcentrum
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Deciduous forests, oak woodlands, suburban gardens, and orchards.
- Diet
- Leaves and flowers of deciduous trees and shrubs, particularly oaks and citrus.
- Range
- United States, Mexico
- Size
- 50 to 65 mm (2 to 2.5 inches) in length
- Lifespan
- 1 year
- Active
- nocturnal
- Threats
- Pesticide use in urban and agricultural areas, habitat fragmentation, and heavy light pollution.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. This gentle insect is safe to observe from any distance and can be gently held, though it may jump if startled. If handled roughly, it may pinch with its mandibles, but it is not venomous or dangerous.
Microcentrum rhombifolium is a species in the family Tettigoniidae ("katydids"), in the order Orthoptera ("grasshoppers, crickets, katydids"). Common names are "greater angle-wing katydid" and "broad-winged katydid". Microcentrum rhombifolium is found in North America.
Photo: Even Dankowicz, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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