Insara elegans

(Scudder, 1901)

Elegant Bush Katydid

Insara elegans, commonly known as the elegant bush , is a phaneropterine katydid in the Tettigoniidae. The occurs in western North America, with records from Mexico and several southwestern U.S. states including Arizona, California, Colorado, and Nevada. It is recognized as prey of the digger wasp Sphex lucae, which paralyzes katydids to provision its nest. Two have been described: I. e. elegans and I. e. consuetipes.

Insara elegans by (c) Ken-ichi Ueda, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Ken-ichi Ueda. Used under a CC-BY license.Insara elegans, Saline Valley Dunes, 2020.05.24 by Vahe Martirosyan. Used under a CC BY-SA 2.0 license.Insara elegans 157424622 by Jake Nitta. Used under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Insara elegans: /ɪnˈsɑːrə ˈɛlɪɡənz/

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Habitat

Bush katydids in the Insara inhabit shrubby vegetation and bushy , consistent with their . Specific microhabitat preferences for I. elegans have not been documented.

Distribution

Documented from Mexico and the southwestern United States, specifically Arizona, California, Colorado, and Nevada.

Ecological Role

Serves as prey for the digger wasp Sphex lucae, which has been observed hunting this and provisioning its burrow with paralyzed individuals.

Similar Taxa

  • Sphex lucaeDigger wasp that hunts Insara elegans; females are black with red and yellowish or violaceous wings, while males are entirely black with violaceous wings. Distinguished from other Sphex by the more oval abdomen of females and lack of silvery patches on the and .

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