Round One of March Species Madness is drawing to a close, and a number of exciting Round Two matches are lined up for next week, but there are still two more important matches to go today. The first pits the Painted Lady butterfly (Vanesa cardui) against the Short-winged Meadow Katydid (Conocephalus dorsalis).
The monarch might be the best-known butterfly species, but the painted lady is the most widespread, found on every continent except Antarctica and South America. The species is a migratory, taking up to six generations to make round trips as long as 14,500 kilometres, almost double the distance the monarch butterfly travels. Females have been known to lay about 500 eggs in their short two-to-four-week lifepan, which is one way of making sure your species gets to its destination. Click here for more facts about this remarkable butterfly.
In the other corner, the short-winged meadow katydid takes on the hopes and dreams of all crickets and grasshoppers that have wanted to compete in March Species Madness. Found across the eastern United States and southern Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick, they are small and have a faint, high-pitched song. Hiding among coarse weeds and grassy fields, its colouration and shape make for excellent camouflage and, if approached, its high-powered legs and antsy disposition mean that the katydid will jump very fast and very far, making it difficult to catch. Click here to learn more about these amazing creatures.
So who wins in this battle between butterfly and katydid? Will the short-winged meadow jump to the next round, or will the painted lady flutter through? Your votes decide the winner, so cast those ballots below: