I saw an insect I didn’t know the other day on the red roses.
It was about 1/2 to 3/4- inch long, the color of a green apple, and had the longest front antennas I’ve ever seen. The antennas had to be over an inch long, seemed to be iridescent, and had tiny alternating bars of darker/lighter colors.
It didn’t take long to figure out what it was: a katydid, also known as a “bush cricket” in some places. It’s kin to grasshoppers too. It’s a jumper, with big hind legs. Yes, she/he jumped immediately when it saw me looking. And it did look like “a walking green leaf”–the description I found along the identification way.
Katydids are not worrisome pests in a garden as they only eat a tiny part of upper leaves on shrubs and trees. They are prey for a lot of other insects and birds. There are many types of katydids across the world, some do eat other insects and some can be much bigger. But the one I saw is common in tropical/warm climates like the southern United States.
Here’s an image I found:
I mentioned seeing a katydid in my roses to a neighbor, and he laughed and said, “What! You’ve never seen one? We used to try to catch them.”
If I had seen one as a child at my grandparents’ house in Georgia–and there was a big garden–I have no memory of it. Hummingbirds, yes, but not katydids.
The night-time calls from Katydids are VERY loud apparently–and their calls are very distinctive. They make the call by rubbing their wings together. (There is a link below where you can hear them–and I’m now wondering if part of what we have all been calling “frogs” is at least partly Katydids.
Here’s more info:
https://biokids.umich.edu/critters/Tettigoniidae/
For sound:
AND, note there are LOTS of poems that include katydids, which you can find on poetrysoup.com
https://www.poetrysoup.com/famous/poem/a_summer_afternoon_18901#google_vignette
A Summer Afternoon
A languid atmosphere, a lazy breeze, With labored respiration, moves the wheat From distant reaches, till the golden seas Break in crisp whispers at my feet.
My book, neglected of an idle mind, Hides for a moment from the eyes of men; Or lightly opened by a critic wind, Affrightedly reviews itself again.
Off through the haze that dances in the shine The warm sun showers in the open glade, The forest lies, a silhouette design Dimmed through and through with shade.
A dreamy day; and tranquilly I lie At anchor from all storms of mental strain; With absent vision, gazing at the sky, "Like one that hears it rain.
" The Katydid, so boisterous last night, Clinging, inverted, in uneasy poise, Beneath a wheat-blade, has forgotten quite If "Katy DID or DIDN'T" make a noise.
The twitter, sometimes, of a wayward bird That checks the song abruptly at the sound, And mildly, chiding echoes that have stirred, Sink into silence, all the more profound.
And drowsily I hear the plaintive strain Of some poor dove .
.
.
Why, I can scarcely keep My heavy eyelids--there it is again-- "Coo-coo!"--I mustn't--"Coo-coo!"--fall asleep!
Louisa Enright's Blog 
There was supposed to be a large invasion in several states of katydids these past few months. These particular ones had laid their eggs many, many years before and they were hatching and mating and, as I understand it, would lay eggs underground again and resurface sometime in the distant future. They did not appear in my area, southwest of Atlanta about 30 miles. Found a dead one on the deck two days ago. Enjoy reading your blog.
Hello there. Thanks for reading the blog and commenting. Katydids and Cicadas are apparently easily confused. I lived through TWO cicada broods emerging in Virginia–two of the long-term ones, something like 17 years or so. They literally covered the grass and streets, and we couldn’t walk without crunching some. I never saw Katydids in my Maine garden, but Maine does have a site for them I saw when I was figuring out what that cute green insect was. If Katydids were there, I didn’t recognize them as such. There were random locusts here and there in the summer. Did you know that dogs LOVE to eat locusts? They treat the like we would a chocolate treat and can easily overeat them in one of the big invasions. I’m in South Carolina now, which is much more tropical.