Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada

Genus Pediodectes

Katydid nymph - Pediodectes nigromarginatus Katydid in an Opuntia flower - Pediodectes haldemanii - female Unknown Insect - Pediodectes nigromarginatus - female shieldback - Pediodectes bruneri - male Katydid nymph - Pediodectes Haldemans Shieldback  - Pediodectes haldemanii Pediodectes all grown up - Pediodectes bruneri Pediodectes haldemanii final-instar nymph female (used for article in Rearing forum) - Pediodectes haldemanii - female
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Orthoptera (Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids)
Suborder Ensifera (Long-horned Orthoptera)
Infraorder Tettigoniidea (Katydids, Camel Crickets, and relatives)
Family Tettigoniidae (Katydids)
Subfamily Tettigoniinae (Shield-backed Katydids)
Genus Pediodectes
Numbers
9 spp. total (many of uncertain validity), about 3 in our area(1)(2)
Range
across NA(1)
Remarks
Some of the species in this genus are very distinctive and can be recognized at a glance, but the majority are rather difficult to reliably tell apart from photos alone. Color patterns vary individually and with age (and it is often difficult to tell if an individual in a photo is a nymph or an adult). Some of the species seem to "run together" and not be entirely distinct from one-another. And, there may also still be unnamed species. So, identifications of some of the more similar looking species here on BugGuide should be considered tentative, especially from within Texas (where the majority of "species" occur).
Works Cited
1.Orthoptera Species File Online
2.Field Guide To Grasshoppers, Katydids, And Crickets Of The United States
John L. Capinera, Ralph D. Scott, Thomas J. Walker. 2004. Cornell University Press.