Can i keep a long legged grasshoper or katydid?

[JeffreH]

Unfortunately I can tell you little more than we already know judging by the picture - and I agree with you that it appears to be female.

It's definitely in the family Tettigoniidae (with other katydids and crickets) but I cannot key it further with my limited knowledge of the local species in your area and without a better quality pictures of the insect... but I don't think identifying it to species is all that important right now anyway. Keep it as we've discussed and if you are fortunate it may thrive and breed for you. I only have exerience culturing one species of katydid, and while the methods to raise them are probably similar, you are likely the first on this forum to take a stab at raising this specific insect.

[Murray of the Deep]

hey Jeff i accidentally escaped one out of its cage by accidentally opened his cage and sprayed water! and also i have one left right now the other one in the pic was crushed and also they are Katydids it molted to an adult! i caught another male but it escaped out of its bottle on my way home.It's pretty hard to find these guys i just find them in a school field on my leisure and also some grasshopper to be fed.

[JeffreH]

Be cautious about feeding anything immediately captured from outside - you'll want to check with the school and make sure that they are not spraying any chemical pesticides (or other "-cides") on the property before feeding them to your animals. Keep in mind katydids and grasshoppers can travel some distance and may have unknown exposure. Only if you are completely confident in the safety of the insect should you feed it. I was under the impression you were looking to collect then culture the insects prior to offering them to your animals.

Best of luck in your insect collecting! I know some of these can be pretty quick and escapees happen to everyone from time to time ; )

[Murray of the Deep]

i obtained another male yey! and also if i cut the "jumping" legs of a grasshopper will it still live?

[JeffreH]

I've never actually tried cutting the legs off - so your guess is as good as mine. The back legs are pretty useful in helping the insect stabilize itself so cutting them off may result in a sluggish insect who is unable to move around properly. I wouldn'y think the injury itself would be severe enough to actually kill it though.

[Murray of the Deep]

so does it mean the back legs wont go back if i cut it off?

[wesleybrouwer]

Seriously guy, seek professional help before you end up in a school shoot out or something.
All i see you contributing are strange ideas about torturing small animals,
scientific studies has shown this can be an early sign of a mental issue developing into something more severe.
Sorry, normally i won't bother posting to things like this, but you do kind of disturb me with those strange ideas.