Their calls sound instead like buzzes or clicks or even, according to the wife of one entomologist, like keys jangling in a pocket. What they do have in common with katydids on the East Coast, and in the tropics, is camouflage. The wings of some local species bear a striking resemblance to leaves, complete with light-green veins. In some places the leaf-like quality of the wings of katydids is enhanced with chew marks, or given a translucent quality as if ravaged by plant fungus, or dotted with black flecks that look like mold. The illusion is a dramatic example of the power of natural selection.
Birds have sharp eyes and are always on the lookout for an insect meal.
Over millions of years, such intense pressure from predators has weeded out katydids whose genes detracted from their resemblance to leaves. P.O. Box 11626, Santa Ana, CA 92711.