Just in time for 'Barbie,' several rare, pink grasshopper-like katydids have been spotted across the US and UK
People in the US and UK are finding pink bugs called katydids — just in time for "Barbie" summer.
The rare bugs are pretty, but their bright coloring can make them easy prey.
Only about one in 500 katydids appear with pink coloring, according to some estimates.
Even the bugs are pink when you're living in a world swept up in a "Barbie" craze.
Several rare, pink katydids — close relatives of grasshoppers and crickets — have been spotted in the United States and the United Kingdom, according to multiple reports.
A man in Cleburne, Texas, told the Houston Chronicle he found a fuchsia katydid in a field near his house.
"A hint of pink crossed my eye, and landed on a piece of grass near my foot," Marshall Woodruff told the Chronicle. "Realizing that it was an uncommon specimen, I quickly nabbed it for closer inspection."
Likewise, a man in Lincoln, England, told the BBC he spotted a similar pink critter in his garden.
"I didn't think much of it at first until I looked up how rare seeing one actually is," Jak Ward told the outlet. "I was pretty excited and grabbed the camera and managed to get a few pictures before it jumped away."
Only about one in 500 katydids appear with pink coloring, according to the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Division of Extension.
The pink bugs get their color variance from a genetic mutation that causes erythrism, a condition of abnormal hues in an animal's appearance, according to the university.
While their bright coloring might them adorable in the eyes of those who love all things pink, it may be the bug's downfall. Their bright coloring makes them easy prey to birds, according to the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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