Pink Katydid
Pink Katydid walking on a vine
Hans Neleman / Getty Images
First described in 1874, pink katydids have inspired more than a century of discussion over the hows and whys of their incredible hue. At the turn of the 20th century, Harvard entomologist Hubbard Scudder suggested that the pink coloring could be seasonal and that green insects changed their colors with the autumn leaves for protection.
American entomologist and myrmecologist William Morton Wheeler rejected this theory. Based on finding bright pink katydid nymphs in the prairies of Wisconsin and Illinois during July 1907, he suggested a genetic root to the condition. Wheeler compared the state to albinism. For the first time, pink katydids became recognized as genetic "mutants" in the scientific literature.1 Entomologists now believe they've confirmed that Wheeler was right. Whatever the reason, we're quite happy that there are such things as pink katydids in the world.