Cicada vs Katydid for Kids
Cicadas and katydids create the summer soundscape, but their instruments are built in different places. This comparison uses the dog-day cicada, Neotibicen canicularis, and greater angle-wing katydid, Microcentrum rhombifolium. The cicada is a stout true bug with short antennae and clear wings; the male flexes abdominal tymbals. The katydid is a long-antenned cricket relative with jumping legs and leaf-like wings; the male rubs his forewings together.
Dog-Day Cicada
- Type: Sap-Feeding Summer-Singing True Bug
- Group: Living species Neotibicen canicularis in cicada family Cicadidae and true-bug order Hemiptera, used as the annual-cicada benchmark
- Known for: Stout black-and-green body, broad head, short antennae, clear veined wings, piercing beak, loud fading whine, male abdominal tymbals, underground sap-feeding nymph, digging forelegs, and a shell left on a tree
- Diet: Herbivore; nymphs pierce roots for watery xylem sap and adults take little food or feed modestly from woody plant fluids
- Special skill: Buckling paired ribbed tymbals rapidly and using the abdomen as a resonating chamber to turn clicks into a powerful summer call after years spent underground
Greater Angle-Wing Katydid
- Type: Leaf-Mimicking Clicking Katydid
- Group: Living species Microcentrum rhombifolium in katydid family Tettigoniidae and cricket-grasshopper order Orthoptera, used as a clear arboreal katydid benchmark
- Known for: Large green leaf-shaped forewings with vein patterns, very long threadlike antennae, long jumping hind legs, chewing mouthparts, rhythmic ticks and a strong dzip call, ears on the front legs, and rows of flat eggs on leaves or twigs
- Diet: Mostly herbivore using chewing mouthparts on leaves, flowers, and sometimes fruit
- Special skill: Looking like a living leaf while rubbing a scraper on one forewing across a toothed file on the other, producing repeated ticks during one slow wing closure
Quick Answer
Quick answer: A dog-day cicada is a stout true bug with short antennae, clear veined wings, a sap-sucking beak, and a nymph that spends about two years underground. Males make a loud fading whine by flexing abdominal tymbals. A greater angle-wing katydid is a green cricket relative with very long antennae, chewing jaws, powerful jumping legs, leaf-like forewings, and ears on its front legs. Males click by rubbing a forewing scraper against a toothed file.
Dog-Day Cicada vs Greater Angle-Wing Katydid: Quick Comparison
| Feature | Dog-Day Cicada | Greater Angle-Wing Katydid |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific identity | Neotibicen canicularis, order Hemiptera | Microcentrum rhombifolium, order Orthoptera |
| Adult length | Body about 27-38 millimetres; under about 50 millimetres including wings | About 52-63 millimetres including folded wings |
| Body shape | Stout, broad-headed, and wedge-like | Slender, long-legged, and leaf-like |
| Antennae | Short and bristle-like | Threadlike and longer than the body |
| Wings | Mostly clear with strong dark or green veins | Broad green forewings resembling an angular leaf |
| Mouthparts | Piercing-sucking beak for plant fluids | Chewing mandibles for leaves and other plant tissue |
| Sound maker | Paired drum-like tymbals on the male abdomen | Scraper and toothed file on the male forewings |
| Sound detector | Tympanal organs near the abdomen | Tympana on the front legs |
| Young life | Nymph digs underground and feeds at roots for about two years | Nymph lives above ground, grows through molts, and develops leaf camouflage |
| Standout clue | Bulky body, clear wings, short antennae, and daytime whine | Leaf wings, huge antennae, jumping legs, and night-time ticks |
How Are Dog-Day Cicada and Greater Angle-Wing Katydid Alike?
- Both are living six-legged insects with two compound eyes, three main body regions, two wing pairs as adults, and no backbone.
- Both develop through incomplete metamorphosis: egg, several wingless or short-winged nymph stages, and adult without a pupal stage.
- Both use species-specific male songs to attract mates, turning late-summer trees into natural concert stages.
- Both lay eggs on or inside plant material and have nymphs that resemble smaller wingless versions of the adult body plan.
- Both rely on camouflage in trees and shrubs and become food for birds, bats, spiders, and other insect-eating animals.
How Are Dog-Day Cicada and Greater Angle-Wing Katydid Different?
- A dog-day cicada belongs to the true bugs in Hemiptera, while a greater angle-wing katydid belongs with crickets and grasshoppers in Orthoptera.
- The cicada has short antennae and a stout body, while the katydid has threadlike antennae longer than its leaf-shaped body.
- The cicada pierces plants for sap, while the katydid chews leaf edges, flowers, and sometimes fruit with mandibles.
- The male cicada flexes abdominal tymbals, while the male katydid rubs a file and scraper on the forewings.
- The cicada nymph spends years underground at roots, while the katydid nymph lives above ground and grows to adulthood within a warm season.
Cicada vs Katydid Showdown
Adaptation showdown: Greater Angle-Wing Katydid wins size by overall adult length because its 52-63 millimetre leaf-like form exceeds the dog-day cicada’s usual total length, although the cicada is stockier. Speed is a Tie because jumping, short flight, and tree-to-tree flight are different tasks without a matched race. Strength is a Tie because cicada digging forelegs and katydid jumping legs solve different jobs. Greater Angle-Wing Katydid wins stealth because green rhombus-shaped forewings, leaf veins, and a daytime roosting posture can closely match foliage. Social behaviour is a Tie because both may signal near neighbours but neither forms a worker colony. Swimming is a Tie because neither is aquatic. Dog-Day Cicada wins weirdest for spending about two years underground, climbing out in a digging suit, leaving a hollow shell, and converting rapid abdominal tymbal buckles into an amplified summer whine.
Fun Cicada vs Katydid Facts
They Play Different Instruments
A male cicada contracts muscles that buckle and release thin ribbed tymbals on his abdomen. A male katydid stridulates: a scraper on one forewing passes across a toothed file on the other, turning wing movement into clicks, trills, or rasps.
A Katydid Wears Leaf-Shaped Wings
The greater angle-wing’s broad green forewings form a pointed rhombus with branching veins like a leaf. Colour, outline, and still daytime posture make the insect difficult to notice among real foliage.
The Cicada Childhood Is Mostly Underground
After hatching from a twig, the cicada nymph drops to the soil, digs towards woody roots, and drinks xylem sap. The dog-day cicada normally develops for about two years, but overlapping ages make adults appear every summer.
Katydid Ears Are on the Front Legs
A slit-like tympanum on each front tibia detects airborne sound. Raising or turning the legs helps the insect sample calls, while long antennae add touch and chemical information in dark vegetation.
The Empty Cicada Shell Is a Nymph’s Old Suit
A mature nymph climbs a trunk, splits its exoskeleton down the back, and pulls out as a soft pale adult. Its wings expand and harden while the dry, clawed shell remains attached to the bark.
Cicada vs Katydid Quiz
- Which insect makes sound with abdominal tymbals? Answer: The dog-day cicada.
- Which insect rubs its forewings to click? Answer: The greater angle-wing katydid.
- Where are a katydid’s hearing organs? Answer: On the front legs.
- Which animal has a piercing-sucking beak? Answer: The dog-day cicada.
- Which animal has very long antennae and leaf-like wings? Answer: The greater angle-wing katydid.
Cicada vs Katydid FAQ
Are cicadas and katydids related?
Both are insects, but not close cousins. Cicadas are true bugs in Hemiptera; katydids are cricket relatives in Orthoptera.
Which is louder, a cicada or katydid?
Many cicadas produce much louder calls, but loudness varies by species, distance, temperature, and how many insects are calling.
Do katydids make the cicada buzzing sound?
No. Katydids rub file-and-scraper structures on the forewings. Cicadas usually flex drum-like abdominal tymbals.
Why is a dog-day cicada called annual if it lives underground for years?
Overlapping groups finish development in different years, so adults can appear every summer even though one nymph usually needs about two years.
Can cicadas or katydids sting people?
No. Neither benchmark has a stinger. Their plant-feeding mouthparts are not used to hunt or attack people.
Animal Words to Know
- Tymbal: A ribbed drum-like membrane flexed by a cicada to produce rapid clicks.
- Stridulation: Making sound by rubbing a scraper across a ridged file or another body surface.
- Tympanum: A thin sound-detecting membrane; a katydid has one on each front leg.
- Incomplete metamorphosis: Development through egg, nymph stages, and adult without a pupa.
- Exuvium: The shed outer skeleton left behind after an arthropod molts.
Build Two Insect Sound Machines
Build Two Insect Sound Machines
Draw a dog-day cicada on one tree branch and a greater angle-wing katydid on a nearby leafy branch. Give the cicada a stout green-and-black body, broad head, short antennae, clear veined wings, piercing beak, abdominal tymbal icons, digging nymph, root tunnel, and shed shell. Give the katydid a slender green body, antennae longer than its body, leaf-shaped forewings, jumping hind legs, foreleg ears, file-and-scraper icons, and a row of flat eggs. Label Hemiptera, Orthoptera, tymbal, stridulation, root nymph, leaf mimic, sap feeder, and plant chewer.
Meet Each Animal
Want the full fact file? Here are quick highlights from each animal’s own facts page.
Dog-Day Cicada Fact Highlight
From the full animal facts pageGreater Angle-Wing Katydid Fact Highlight
From the full animal facts pageMore Animal Comparisons
Pick another animal matchup and keep exploring. Tiny facts, big questions, very serious animal business.
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