In this fascinating photograph by reddit user Wolfhole, we see a pink ‘katydid’, also known as a bush cricket and scientifically classified as the Tettigoniidae family. There are more than 6,400 species and they are also known as long-horned grasshoppers, to distinguish them from the Caelifera, the true or short-horned grasshoppers. [source]
This particular species is known as an Oblong-winged katydid or Amblycorypha oblongifolia. While green is by far the most common color; pink, yellow and orange colorings can occur but are far more rare. According to Scientific American:
Right now it’s widely accepted that pink, yellow and orange katydids occur as a result of erythrism—a genetic mutation controlled by recessive genes that causes an absence of a normal pigment, such as green, and/or an excessive production of another pigment, such as red or pink. “It apparently is similar to the situation in albino animals where the condition is due to recessive genes,” said Professor of Entomology Tom Turpin, from Indiana’s Purdue University in 2009. [source]
from TwistedSifter http://ift.tt/1LNqcGJ
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