Critically Endangered
These are the only cave-dwelling katydids. They have very sticky feet which allows them to walk on the cave surfaces, even upside-down on smooth areas. They have a very specific kind of cave they need. They cannot live in a cave with bats or Rock Hyrax, because they are slow and could easily be prey for those animals. They prefer cold caves at high elevations, though since it is only found in South Africa, cold is relative. Their caves are generally around 54°F. They have an ultrasonic call, are pale, with extremely long limbs and antennae. They venture out of their cave at night in order to eat plants located right outside. I cannot find any conservation efforts or protections in place for them, though one of the caves they live in does seem to be in a generally protected area.
We got a little rain today. While I hate being cold, I find rain so comforting. One of my favourite things is to be camping in a tent and have it rain over night. Yeah, hiking or trying to cook when it is soggy is not fun, but sleeping in a tent and listening to the rain is wonderful. Some of my very favourite memories are of camping. I don't think I've shared this picture before, but if I have, I'm not too upset. This is my best friend I became friends with when I was 3 to 3 1/2. I honestly have no idea what she is holding, quite possibly a frog. I don't know how old we were, but it looks like end of junior-high early high school. I wish she was still alive, she would probably remember. My parents had a tent trailer that we would pull behind our VW Bus. There was a patch on our trailer where a bear had decided getting in would be fun, which may be why the original owners had been so happy to part with it. It was simple, just 2 double beds with some storage underneath. I remember taking bff on one of our camping trips with that trailer. My sister, bff, and I all had our sleeping bags, and instead of sleeping length-wise on the bed, we all sort of let our legs dangle off the end and slept width-wise. This picture is not from that trip. I don't even remember where we went. I know that if my bff was there, we had a lot of fun though!