. The Canadian field-naturalist. 1980 Notes 195. Figure 1. Male Broad-winged Bush-katydid feeding on disk florets of a Flat-topped White Aster. At 16:30 on a warm and sunny day (9 August 1979) 1 noticed a katydid placidly foraging on the flower heads of a Flat-topped White Aster. The aster, part of a clump about m tall, was growing at the eastern end of Borthwick Ridge at the edge of the Mer Bleue peat bog near Ottawa in an area which became shaded late in the afternoon by nearby Red Maples (Acer rubrum). The male katydid, perched on top of the inflores- cence, was quite conspicuous althou
. The Canadian field-naturalist. 1980 Notes 195. Figure 1. Male Broad-winged Bush-katydid feeding on disk florets of a Flat-topped White Aster. At 16:30 on a warm and sunny day (9 August 1979) 1 noticed a katydid placidly foraging on the flower heads of a Flat-topped White Aster. The aster, part of a clump about m tall, was growing at the eastern end of Borthwick Ridge at the edge of the Mer Bleue peat bog near Ottawa in an area which became shaded late in the afternoon by nearby Red Maples (Acer rubrum). The male katydid, perched on top of the inflores- cence, was quite conspicuous although its slow move- ments and markedly veined tegmina gave it the appearance of a leaf mimic (Figure 1). The katydid continued to feed on the partially shaded flower heads seemingly undisturbed by the frequent flashes while 1 photographed it from a few centimeters away. During the 20 min of observation, the katydid foraged almost exclusively on the disk florets of two flower heads. Beginning first with the projecting style and anther ring of those florets that were in anthesis, the katydid chewed progressively downward to and as well in- cluded the lobes of the tubular corollas. Only those disk florets that were in anthesis were grazed leaving intact the younger, closed florets. While it was feeding on the two flower heads, the katydid ate only a single ligule of a ray floret. The katydid and aster inflores- cence were subsequently enclosed within a polyethy- lene bag and moved inside, next to a laboratory win- dow with the inflorescence axis supported in a beaker of water. The katydid continued to feed occasionally on disk florets for several days before succumbing within its restrictive enclosure. The katydid's discriminating grazing habit while on the heads of the Flat-topped White Aster may reflect its preference for the protein-rich pollen grains. I thank J. E. H. Martin of the Biosystematics Research Institute, Agricuhure Canada for identify- ing the katydid. Literature Cit
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