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Family Tettigoniidae - Katydids

Conocephalus strictus - female Handsome Meadow Katydid - Orchelimum pulchellum - male Neoconocephalus velox - female Katydid? - Belocephalus - female Drumming Katydid - Meconema thalassinum - male Katydid - Microcentrum retinerve - male Pink bug taken in lower corner of Michigan - Amblycorypha oblongifolia - female Common True Katydid - Pterophylla camellifolia - female Shield-backed Katydid - Atlanticus americanus - male Greater arid-land predaceous Katydid - Neobarrettia spinosa - female
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Orthoptera (Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids)
Suborder Ensifera (Long-horned Orthoptera)
Infraorder Tettigoniidea (Katydids, Camel Crickets, and relatives)
Family Tettigoniidae (Katydids)
Other Common Names
Long-horned Meadow Grasshoppers
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
classification follows (1)
Explanation of Names
Tettigoniidae Krauss 1902
Numbers
~280 spp. in ~60 genera of 7 subfamilies in our area(2), >8000 spp. total, arranged into ~20 subfamilies(1)
Size
5-130 mm; in our area, 10-60 mm
Identification
wings held vertically over body, resembling roof of a house
antennae very long, often extending well beyond tip of abdomen
tarsi 4-4-4 (vs 3-3-3 in crickets)
tympana (hearing organs) on front tibiae
ovipositor typically flattened and sword-like
keys to taxa of our fauna in (2)
Subfamilies of our fauna:
Conocephalinae (Coneheads and Meadow Katydids)
Listroscelidinae (Spiny Predatory Katydids)
Meconematinae (Quiet-calling Katydids)
Phaneropterinae (False Katydids)
Pseudophyllinae (True Katydids)
Tettigoniinae (Shield-backed Katydids)
Range
worldwide, by far more diverse in warm climes
Food
Most species eat vegetation, some are predatory on other insects
Print References
(3)(4)
Works Cited
1.Orthoptera Species File Online
2.Singing Insects of North America
3.Field Guide To Grasshoppers, Katydids, And Crickets Of The United States
John L. Capinera, Ralph D. Scott, Thomas J. Walker. 2004. Cornell University Press.
4.How to Know the Grasshoppers, Cockroaches, and Their Allies
Jacques R. Helfer. 1962. Wm. C. Brown Company.