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Lesson 8: The Katydid

Performer: LibriVox - Jon Kissack


'The Katydid's Quarrel' from Among the Meadow People by Clara Dillingham Pierson

The warm summer days were past, and the Katydids came again to the meadow. Everybody was glad to see them, and the Grasshoppers, who are cousins of the Katydids, gave a party in their honor.

Such a time as the meadow people had getting ready for that party! They did not have to change their dresses, but they scraped and cleaned themselves, and all the young Grasshoppers went off by the woods to practise jumping and get their knees well limbered, because there might be games and dancing at the party, and then how dreadful it would be if any young Grasshopper should find that two or three of his legs wouldn't bend easily!

The Grasshoppers did not know at just what time they ought to have the party. Some of the meadow people whom they wanted to invite were used to sleeping all day, and some were used to sleeping all night, so it really was hard to find an hour at which all would be wide-awake and ready for fun. At last the Tree Frog said: "Pukr-r-rup! Pukr-r-rup! Have it at sunset!" And at sunset it was.

Everyone came on time, and they hopped and chattered and danced and ate a party supper of tender green leaves. Some of the little Grasshoppers grew sleepy and crawled among the plantains for a nap. Just then a big Katydid said he would sing a song—which was a very kind thing for him to do, because he really did it to make the others happy, and not to show what a fine musician he was. All the guests said, "How charming!" or, "We should be delighted!" and he seated himself on a low swinging branch. You know Katydids sing with the covers of their wings, and so when he alighted on the branch he smoothed down his pale green suit and rubbed his wing-cases a little to make sure that they were in tune. Then he began loud and clear, "Katy did! Katy did!! Katy did!!!"

Of course he didn't mean any real Katy, but was just singing his song. However, there was another Katydid there who had a habit of contradicting, and he had eaten too much supper, and that made him feel crosser than ever; so when the singer said "Katy did!" this cross fellow jumped up and said, "Katy didn't! Katy didn't!! Katy didn't!!!" and they kept at it, one saying that she did and the other that she didn't, until everybody was ashamed and uncomfortable, and some of the little Grasshoppers awakened and wanted to know what was the matter.

Both of the singers got more and more vexed until at last neither one knew just what he was saying—and that, you know, is what almost always happens when people grow angry. They just keep saying something as loud and fast as possible and thought all the while that they were very bright—which was all they knew about it.

Suddenly somebody noticed that the one who began to say "Katy did!" was screaming "Katy didn't!" and the one who had said "Katy didn't!" was roaring "Katy did!" Then they all laughed, and the two on the branch looked at each other in a very shamefaced way.

The Tree Frog always knew the right thing to do, and he said "Pukr-r-rup!" so loudly that all stopped talking at once. When they were quiet he said: "We will now listen to a duet, 'Katy,' by the two singers who are up the tree. All please join in the chorus." So it was begun again, and both the leaders were good-natured, and all the Katydids below joined in with "did or didn't, did or didn't, did or didn't." And that was the end of the quarrel.

    Animal Nature Study by Various Animal Nature Study by Various    

Lesson 8: The Katydid

Performer: LibriVox - Jon Kissack

Directions

Study the lesson for one week.

Over the week:

  • Read the story.
  • Review the animal synopsis.
  • Study the vocabulary words.
  • Learn the concepts.
  • Complete the enrichment activities.
  • Study the review questions.

Synopsis

Like fireflies, butterflies, bees, mosquitoes, dragonflies, beetles, and grasshoppers, katydids are insects. "Katy did, she didn't, she did," poet James Whitcomb Riley writes, "The katydid is rasping at the silence." The word "rasping" well describes the note played by male katydids by rubbing their wings together. Katydids are beautiful insects, with green, finely veined, leaflike wing covers under which is a pair of wings. As they resemble leaves, katydids hide from predators by living among trees, shrubs, and tall grasses. Due to their effective camouflage, katydids are rarely discovered except by accident. However, when male katydids sing at night, they may be ferreted out with the aid of a flashlight. Like grasshoppers, katydids undergo incomplete metamorphosis and female katydids lay eggs using ovipositors. Newly hatched katydids look like small adults except they do not have wings. Katydids feed on vegetation. When eating, katydids often hold a leaf or flower firmly with their front feet, biting it off like a grazing cow and chewing industriously with their sidewise-working jaws. As they are insects, katydids breathe air through spiracles, expanding and contracting their bodies to open and close the spiracle openings.

Vocabulary

Spiracles: An external respiratory opening, especially each of a number of pores on the body of an insect.
Air: The invisible gaseous substance surrounding the earth, a mixture mainly of oxygen and nitrogen.
Expand: Become or make larger or more extensive.
Contract: Decrease in size, number, or range.
Compound Eye: An eye consisting of an array of numerous small visual units, as found in insects and crustaceans.
Simple Eye: A small eye of an insect or other arthropod that has only one lens, typically present in one or more pairs.

Concepts

Katydid have green eyes that are very different from human eyes.

Facts about insect eyes:

  1. Insects have compound eyes, which are made of many small hexagonal eyes grouped together like a honeycomb. See below an electron microscope image of a compound eye.
  2. Insects have compound eyes during the adult stage.
  3. Some insects have a few tiny simple eyes between the compound eyes.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Narrate the Story

  • After reading or listening to the story, narrate the story events aloud using your own words.

Activity 2: Watch the Video

  • Watch and listen to the katydid in the video.
  • Note how the katydid mimics the appearance of a leaf. Sing, 'Katy did, Katy didn't, Katy did,' along with the insect.

Activity 3: Classify the Animal

  • Katydids are animals, invertebrates, arthropods, and insects.
  • Trace which categories katydids fit into on the classification chart.

Activity 4: Recite 'To an Insect' by Oliver Wendell Holmes

I love to hear thine earnest voice

Wherever thou art hid,

Thou testy little dogmatist,

Thou pretty katydid,


Thou mindest me of gentle folks,

Old gentle folks are they,

Thou say'st an undisputed thing

In such a solemn way.

Activity 5: Color and Label a Katydid   

  • Click the crayon above. Complete page 19 of 'Science Field Book for Second Grade.'

Activity 6: Take a Nature Walk

Take a nature walk, locate a katydid or other animal to observe, gather data and notes, and use that information to create a field book entry. You may wish to take a pencil and a small notebook to jot down sketches and observations. If you can't find a katydid, you may sketch a different animal or make a sketch based on the video in Activity 2.

Before you take the nature walk, review:

  • The field book template you'll later complete on page 20 of 'Science Field Book for Second Grade.'
  • The suggested list of observations below.

Behavioral observations include:

  • How does the katydid move?
  • How does the katydid eat?
  • What does the katydid eat?
  • How does the katydid sense the world?
  • How does the katydid breathe?

Habitat observations include:

  • Does the katydid live in a forest, a field, a town, or near water?
  • In what type of climate does the katydid live (e.g. temperate, tropical, arid, arctic)?

Appearance observations include:

  • What do the wing covers look like?
  • What colors are the wings?
  • What colors are the eyes and body?
  • How many legs does the katydid have?
  • How many antennae does the katydid have?

Activity 7: Complete a Field Book Entry   

  • Click the crayon above. After your nature walk, complete page 20 of 'Science Field Book for Second Grade.'

Review

Question 1

Katydids have three pairs of legs. Which are the longest?
1 / 9

Answer 1

The hind legs are the longest pair of legs.
1 / 9

Question 2

How do katydids hide from predators?
2 / 9

Answer 2

Katydids are the same color as the leaves and bushes they reside among. In addition, their wing covers look just like leaves, allowing them to blend in.
2 / 9

Question 3

What are the three main parts of katydids' bodies?
3 / 9

Answer 3

The three main parts of all insect bodies include the head, the thorax, and the abdomen.
3 / 9

Question 4

How many legs do katydids have?
4 / 9

Answer 4

Katydids have six legs.
4 / 9

Question 5

How do katydids sing?
5 / 9

Answer 5

Katydids sing by rubbing their wings together.
5 / 9

Question 6

Do all katydids sing?
6 / 9

Answer 6

No, only male katydids sing.
6 / 9

Question 7

Do katydids have lungs like humans?
7 / 9

Answer 7

No, katydids do not have lungs. Instead, they breathe through openings called spiracles.
7 / 9

Question 8

Do katydids have bones like humans?
8 / 9

Answer 8

No, katydids are insects. They have an exoskeleton instead of an internal skeleton of bones.
8 / 9

Question 9

Are katydid eyes like human eyes?
9 / 9

Answer 9

No, katydids have compound eyes with multiple visual units.
9 / 9

  1. Katydids have three pairs of legs. Which are the longest? The hind legs are the longest pair of legs.
  2. How do katydids hide from predators? Katydids are the same color as the leaves and bushes they reside among. In addition, their wing covers look just like leaves, allowing them to blend in.
  3. What are the three main parts of katydids' bodies? The three main parts of all insect bodies include the head, the thorax, and the abdomen.
  4. How many legs do katydids have? Katydids have six legs.
  5. How do katydids sing? Katydids sing by rubbing their wings together.
  6. Do all katydids sing? No, only male katydids sing.
  7. Do katydids have lungs like humans? No, katydids do not have lungs. Instead, they breathe through openings called spiracles.
  8. Do katydids have bones like humans? No, katydids are insects. They have an exoskeleton instead of an internal skeleton of bones.
  9. Are katydid eyes like human eyes? No, katydids have compound eyes with multiple visual units.

References

  1. Comstock, Anna Botsford. Handbook of nature-study (Twenty-fourth edition). Ithaca, New York Comstock Publishing Company, Inc, 1911.

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