# ID this insect **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 3, 2016, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-insect/761627 "2016-08-03T09:55:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-insect/761627/1 "2016-08-03T09:55:25Z")
I’ve been seeing a few of [these things](https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8844/28739119715_e111503f61_b.jpg) around the house this summer. They’re usually perched on the ceiling or on the wall (the one in the photo is hanging out by my bathroom light). They’re larger than a housefly, but smaller than a cranefly, probably about the size of an average-sized spider. They seem pretty sedentary - I’ve never seen them move around much. They seem benign and all - it’s just that I’ve never seen them before this summer and I’m not sure what to make of them. Any educated guesses as to what they are? ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-insect/761627/2 "2016-08-03T11:14:50Z")
Leaf Hopper? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-insect/761627/3 "2016-08-03T11:19:56Z")
> [@MacCat](#): > > Leaf Hopper? The leafhoppers I know have shorter legs. It looks like some kind of tree cricket to me. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-insect/761627/4 "2016-08-03T11:28:00Z")
Is it a katydid, like [this guy](https://twitter.com/GuanoLad/statuses/421245911109357568?tw_i=421245911109357568&tw_e=media&tw_p=archive) that crawled on me a couple of summers ago? ---
**Author:** ![half-elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@half-elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/half-elf)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-insect/761627/5 "2016-08-03T16:01:13Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Is it a katydid, like [this guy](https://twitter.com/GuanoLad/statuses/421245911109357568?tw_i=421245911109357568&tw_e=media&tw_p=archive) that crawled on me a couple of summers ago? I googled ‘‘green insect similar to cricket’’ and this link seems to confirm it. > **[What is this bug?](https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/tools-and-resources/identification/what-is-this-bug/)** > > A bilingual interactive tool to help you identify bugs found around Aotearoa New Zealand. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-insect/761627/6 "2016-08-03T22:45:51Z")
Yup! That’s a katydid! Kinda grasshopper like. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-insect/761627/7 "2016-08-03T23:18:16Z")
Could be [Drumming Katydid](http://bugguide.net/node/view/991114) Meconema thalassinum.