Family: Tettigoniidae, Long-horned Grasshoppers and Katydids view all from this family

Description 3/4-1 1/2" (19-39 mm). Brown to gray-brown, usually with yellowish-brown mottling or stripes on pronotum and sides of thorax. Pronotum narrows at front.

Food Foliage of trees and shrubs.

Life Cycle Flat, oval gray eggs are cemented to plant stems in late summer. They overwinter and hatch the following spring. Growth is slower in the North than in the south. 1 generation a year.

Habitat Woods and meadows.

Range Coastal areas from California to British Columbia.

Discussion The larger Splendid Shield-back Katydid (N. ovata), 1-1 5/8" (26-40 mm), has an oval pronotum and green markings. It ranges from Nevada to the southern California deserts.