Seventeen new species of the predaceous katydid genus Phlugis Karny (Meconematinae) are described and figured. All of these species were collected from rainforests in northern Peru. Three of them — along with the already described species, P. teres (DeGeer) — regularly were captured along trails at ground level; the remaining 14 were collected from treetop canopies 10 to 30 m above ground level, using pesticide fogging methods. Based on the numbers of new forms collected from tree canopies, it is probable that many species of this already large genus are yet to be discovered as this niche is explored more thoroughly.