''Chlorobalius'' is a

monotypic genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

of Australian bush crickets (katydids) in the tribe Terpandrini containing the single species ''Chlorobalius leucoviridis'', sometimes known as the spotted predatory katydid. ''C. leucoviridis'' is a

predator Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...

and is an acoustic

aggressive mimic Aggressive mimicry is a form of mimicry in which predators, parasites, or parasitoids share similar signals, using a harmless model, allowing them to avoid being correctly identified by their prey or host. Zoologists have repeatedly compared ...

cicada The cicadas () are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two ...

s; by imitating the sounds and movements made by female

cicadas The cicadas () are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into tw ...

, it lures male cicadas to within its reach and then eats them.

Taxonomy

''Chlorobalius leucoviridis'' was first described by the Prussian/Australian botanist and

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

Johann Gottlieb Otto Tepper Johann Gottlieb Otto Tepper (19 April 1841 – 16 February 1923) was a Prussian-born botanist, teacher, plant collector and entomologist who spent most of his life living and working in Australia. He spent much of his career with the South Austral ...

in 1896. It forms part of the family Tettigoniidae, the subfamily Listroscelidinae and the tribe Terpendrini, the gum-leaf katyatids.

Description

The adult ''Chlorobalius leucoviridis'' is a large, cryptically-coloured katydid. The body, wings and legs are barred and spotted in green and white. The legs bear short spines and both males and females have stridulatory organs, the male has a file-and-scraper structure on the

tegmen A tegmen (: tegmina) designates the modified leathery front wing on an insect particularly in the orders Dermaptera (earwigs), Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets and similar families), Mantodea (praying mantis), Phasmatodea (stick and leaf insec ...

(fore-wing) while the female has pegs on the hind wing which rub against certain veins on the fore-wing.

Distribution and habitat

''Chlorobalius leucoviridis'' is native to arid, inland regions of Australia. It is typically found high in a large bush or small tree.

Behaviour

''Chlorobalius leucoviridis'' is nocturnal and occurs in small groups which move from one location to another. It feeds by catching other insects such as

flies Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwin ...

grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grassh ...

s and other

katydid Insects in the family Tettigoniidae are commonly called katydids (especially in North America) or bush crickets. They have previously been known as "long-horned grasshoppers". More than 8,000 species are known. Part of the suborder Ensifera, the ...

s, grasping the prey with its fore-legs or first two pairs of legs, and immobilising it by biting it under the throat. The spines on the legs seem to play a part in controlling larger prey items. The male makes loud, trilling songs to lead females of its own species towards its location. The male attracts male cicadas on which to feed by mimicry, luring them to its vicinity by deception. This is accomplished both acoustically, by audible wing-clicking in a pattern similar to that used by sexually-receptive female cicadas, and visually by the use of synchronised body movements similar to those exhibited by the females. Remarkably, the katydid has the ability to mimic the sounds and movements of a number of different prey species, even some species with which it has never had direct contact.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q14625415, from2=Q10450480 Taxa described in 1896 Tettigoniidae Monotypic Orthoptera genera Taxa named by J. G. O. Tepper