Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

Registration is open for the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2023

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29


Previous events
TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids (Orthoptera) » Long-horned Orthoptera (Ensifera) » Katydids, Camel Crickets, and relatives (Tettigoniidea) » Katydids (Tettigoniidae) » Phaneropterine Katydids (Phaneropterinae) » Short-wing Katydids (Obolopteryx)

Genus Obolopteryx - Short-wing Katydids

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Which meadow katydid? - Obolopteryx brevihastata - male Common Short-winged Katydid - Obolopteryx brevihastata - male short wing katydid? - Obolopteryx castanea Dichopetala - Obolopteryx - female Male, Obolopteryx brevihastata? - Obolopteryx brevihastata - male Obolopteryx - male Obolopteryx - Obolopteryx castanea - female Obolopteryx catinata - 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)
Subfamily Phaneropterinae (Phaneropterine Katydids)
Genus Obolopteryx (Short-wing Katydids)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Dichopetala Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1878
Obolopteryx Cohn, Swanson & Fontana, 2014
Explanation of Names
Most of our U.S. species formerly placed in the genus Dichopetala were transferred to a new genus, Obolopteryx, by Cohn, Swanson, & Fontana 2014 (with the exception of D. pollicifera, which was placed in genus Planipollex). The genus Dichopetala now contains only one species D. mexicana, which is not found in the U.S.
Numbers
7 spp. in our area, 14 spp. total (1)(2)
Size
13-25 mm body length (D. brevihastata)
Identification
Medium-sized, robust, flightless katydids. Forewings of females essentially absent (present as small scales). Males have short forewings used only in stridulation. Determination of species requires examining characters including the male cercus, female subgenital plate, and ovipositor.
Range
sw. US, extending into Mexico(2); D. brevihastata is widespread (se. AZ to so. TX), our other spp. largely restricted to TX(3)
Habitat
Species occur in a wide range of habitats, including mountains, low woodlands, shrublands and deserts (Cohn, Swanson, & Fontana 2014)
Season
July-October (D. brevihastata)
Food
Probably mostly herbivorous. Some species reported to eat flowers(4)
See Also
Planipollex
Arethaea may look similar as nymphs
Print References
Capinera et al., pp. 168-169, plate 35 (5)
Helfer, pp. 281-282 (4)
Cohn, Swanson & Fontana. 2014. Misc. Publ. Univ. Mich. Mus. Zool. 203:26
Internet References
OSF
Works Cited
1.American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico
Ross H. Arnett. 2000. CRC Press.
2.Orthoptera Species File Online
3.Singing Insects of North America
4.How to Know the Grasshoppers, Cockroaches, and Their Allies
Jacques R. Helfer. 1962. Wm. C. Brown Company.
5.Field Guide To Grasshoppers, Katydids, And Crickets Of The United States
John L. Capinera, Ralph D. Scott, Thomas J. Walker. 2004. Cornell University Press.
Contributed by Eric R. Eaton on 10 November, 2005 - 6:05pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, john and jane balaban, David Ferguson, v belov, metrioptera, Tyler Hedlund
Last updated 10 June, 2020 - 1:20pm

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact