Hump-winged grig

A flightless North American katydid in the genus Cyphoderris, distinguished by its humped forewings and its place in an ancient katydid lineage.

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Cyphoderris: A genus of flightless, hump-winged katydids native to western North America. The genus contains the hump-winged grig and defines its immediate taxonomic group.
Sexual cannibalism: The consumption of one mating partner by the other before, during, or after mating. Female grigs feed on a male's hind wings during mating, an unusual form of nuptial feeding.
Phylogenetics: The study of evolutionary relationships among organisms using inherited similarities and differences. Grig anatomy and genes help place an ancient lineage within katydid evolution.
Cyphoderris monstrosa: A species of hump-winged grig found in western North America. It is a well-studied example of the genus's distinctive mating behavior.
Hagloidea: An ancient lineage of ensiferan insects that includes hump-winged grigs and related taxa. This superfamily places Cyphoderris among early-diverging katydid relatives.
Nuptial feeding: A mating behavior in which one partner provides food to the other. A male's edible hind-wing tissue functions as a food gift during copulation.
Molecular phylogenetics: The inference of evolutionary relationships from DNA, RNA, or protein sequences. Sequence comparisons test how Cyphoderris relates to other ensiferan insects.
Cyphoderris buckelli: A species of hump-winged grig native to western North America. Its species-level identity illustrates diversity within the genus.
Tettigoniidae: The katydid family of long-horned orthopteran insects, including more than 6,000 described species. Hump-winged grigs are katydids, though their classification reflects an unusually early branch.
Spermatophore: A sperm-containing package transferred from a male to a female during mating in many animals. The male's spermatophore accompanies mating and provides a nutritional gift to the female.