One of the coolest things about living on rural property is that there are amazing things to find every day with a macro lens, and you never know when you'll see it! I was taking pictures of these gorgeous flowers for my flower count when I saw something impossibly neon green on one of them. Moving closer, I nearly squealed in joy! It was a CRICKET! Wait...that wasn't quite like a cricket...IT WAS A SUPER COOL NEON SOMETHING!! :D This guy was about 1" high and 2" long, and one of the coolest insects I've ever seen. It was also very relaxed and allowed me to take all the pictures I wanted with me finally backing off and leaving it to its happy pollen munching. I can hardly believe the color and details on this guy, and it was a quick job to discover that I'd found a Fork-Tailed Katydid! WOOT!!! :D

I wasn't far off when I guessed this was a cricket. Katydids are in the same order of insects as crickets and grasshoppers, and another name for Katydid is "bush-cricket"! :) However, yet another name for these cool insects is "long-horned grasshoppers", though they are more like crickets than grasshoppers. There are about 255 species in North America, but the majority of species live in the tropical regions of the world.

If you would like to know more about these gorgeous insects, Wiki has a page here: Wiki: Katydid (Tettigoniidae)