Bug FAQHandsome Meadow Katydid
Orchelimum pulchellum · Order: Orthoptera · Family: Tettigoniidae
Also called: handsome meadow grasshopper
The handsome meadow katydid is 18 to 23 mm long and has green body with reddish marks around the head; its folded wings show a turquoise stripe and it often has blue eyes on a white or yellow face. It lives in moist forests and wetlands across North America, from the Gulf Coast up through the eastern United States and west to Mississippi. Adults feed on pollen and foliage and are active from mid-July to mid-November in places like Alabama.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
At rest its wings display a turquoise stripe, the body is green with reddish marks near the head, and it usually has blue compound eyes on a white or yellow face.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Body length ranges from 18 to 23 mm (0.71 to 0.91 in).
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Found in moist forests and wetlands.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Consumes pollen from flowering plants and foliage.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Active from mid-July until mid-November in Alabama.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Occurs throughout North America, extending south to Florida and west to Mississippi.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 19 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Maryland, Alabama, South Carolina, New Jersey.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: endemic in North America; endemic in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
How can I identify a handsome meadow katydid?
Look for a 18 to 23 mm green body with reddish marks near the head, turquoise stripe on folded wings, and usually blue eyes on a white or yellow face.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Tettigoniidae)
Great Green Bush-cricketTettigonia viridissimaCan bite
Dark Bush-cricketPholidoptera griseoaptera
Mediterranean KatydidPhaneroptera nanaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Fork-tailed Bush KatydidScudderia furcataDamages trees, gardens or crops
Speckled Bush-cricketLeptophyes punctatissima
Roesel's Bush-cricketRoeseliana roeseliiSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchelimum_pulchellum
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.