Long-legged shield-backed katydid

The long-legged shield-backed katydid (Anabrus longipes) belongs to the Tettigoniidae family within the order Orthoptera. This insect is recognized as a significant agricultural pest due to its robust mandibles and potential for population outbreaks, which pose a serious threat to various cultivation systems.

This species is a generalist feeder that impacts a wide array of crops. Its diet includes cereal grains, legumes, sunflowers, various vegetables, and occasionally vineyard crops. By feeding on both seedlings and mature plant reproductive structures, it significantly reduces total harvest output.

The life cycle of this katydid involves incomplete metamorphosis. Females deposit eggs into the soil in late summer, where they remain in diapause through the winter. Nymphs emerge in the spring, progress through several instars, and reach the adult stage by mid-summer, coinciding with the period of peak consumption.

Damage symptoms include ragged defoliation, stem girdling, and the destruction of flower heads or grain spikes. Under high infestation densities, the pest can decimate entire fields within a short timeframe, necessitating rapid intervention to mitigate substantial economic losses.

Management strategies rely on a combination of cultural and chemical controls. Effective practices include deep tillage to destroy overwintering eggs and the application of contact or systemic insecticides once the economic injury level is reached. Barrier strips are also commonly employed to block nymphal migrations.