Sad news!
Pinky, the famous katydid, was found dead this morning.
Pinky the katydid is dead
The famous bubblegum-pink insect was taken out by parasitic fly
Wednesday, July 29, 2009 8:55 AM
By Mark D. Somerson
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
She lived a short, bright life that thrilled entomologists and amateur naturalists alike.
Pinky, the bubblegum-pink katydid, is dead. She was discovered this morning by Jim McCormac, of the Ohio Division of Wildlife, who had helped make the insect the brief, shining star she was.
Worse yet, it was murder most foul.
The rare katydid, found in the Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area in Wyandot County on the 19th, succumbed to a parasitic fly that likely struck in the wild several weeks ago, McCormac said.
The fly lays an egg onto its victim, and its offspring bores through its exoskeleton and eats the host alive from the inside. At first, McCormac and other experts believed a parasitic wasp killed the katydid. An autopsy of sorts performed this afternoon at Ohio State University by entomologist Norman F. Johnson discovered the fly grub.
" We had hoped that it might take a few weeks before the (grub) inside managed to kill her, but not the case, unfortunately," he said.
Nature enthusiasts Jan Kennedy, of Mansfield, and friend Cheryl Harner of Crestline were participating in an Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalists workshop when they found the katydid. Harner had kept the katydid in a terrarium before she began a brief tour of the state. Her first stop was the Midwest Native Plant Conference at the Hope Hotel and Conference Center in Dayton on Saturday. Then she was taken to McCormac's office for study. The insect was supposed to be on display at the Ohio State Fair, which opened today. McCormac, who was also at the July 19th workshop, said photos of Pinky had "gone viral" since he posted them on his blog and his Facebook page.
Pink katydids are rare - about one in 500,000 - but also come in blue, yellow and - most commonly - green, said Wil Hershberger, a West Virginia nature photographer and the author of The Songs of Insects.
The katydid gets its name from its song. It sounds as if it's saying "katy-did-katy-did-katy-did." The green ones mimic leaves, but the pink ones stand out and make easy pickings for predators, Hershberger said.
"Birds would take that out in a hurry."
Or, in Pinky's case, wasps.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
