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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids (Orthoptera) » Long-horned Orthoptera (Ensifera) » Katydids (Tettigoniidae) » Coneheads and Meadow Katydids (Conocephalinae) » Lesser Meadow Katydids (Conocephalus)

Genus Conocephalus - Lesser Meadow Katydids

Classification · Other Common Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Straight-lanced Meadow Katydid - Conocephalus strictus - male Grasshopper - Conocephalus Conocephalus brevipennis - Short-winged Meadow Katydid? - Conocephalus brevipennis Straight-Laced Meadow Katydid - Conocephalus strictus Female Field Katydid - Conocephalus brevipennis - female Meadow Katydid Nymph? - Conocephalus - female Unknown Katydid - Conocephalus Gladiator Meadow Katydid? - Conocephalus nemoralis - female
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Orthoptera (Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids)
Suborder Ensifera (Long-horned Orthoptera)
Family Tettigoniidae (Katydids)
Subfamily Conocephalinae (Coneheads and Meadow Katydids)
Genus Conocephalus (Lesser Meadow Katydids)
Other Common Names
Smaller Meadow Katydids
Numbers
Arnett, p. 162, (1) and nearctica.com list 18 species.
Size
10-27 mm (head to tip of wings), body length 12-17 mm
Identification
See Singing Insects of North America. Compare the, usually larger, chunkier, Greater Meadow Katydids, Orchelimum. Females of Conocephalus usually have straight ovipositors, while female Orchelimum have curved ovipositors. Many Conocephalus seem to have a clear green "face", while many Orchelimum have some white mottling or other coloration, such as red.
Range
Includes eastern and central North America.
Habitat
Fields, meadows
Season
Late summer to frost. July-October (Michigan, North Carolina), some species later in year in south.
Food
Food habits similar to Orchelimum--feed on leaves, flowers, seeds, and pollen of forbs and grasses. Occasionally predaceous on other insects, less so than Orchelimum. (2)
Life Cycle
Females oviposit in grass-stems. One generation per year.
See Also
Greater Meadow Katydids, Orchelimum
Print References
Arnett, p. 162 (1)
Bland, pp. 146-150 (2)
Capinera, pp. 181-182, plate 40 (3)
Helfer, p. 266, figs. 409-410 (4)
Brimley, p. 20 (5)
Borror and White, pp. 82-83, plate 2--C. brevipennis (6)
Rehn JAG, Hebard M. 1915. Studies in American Tettigoniidae. V. A synopsis of the species of the genus Conocephalus (Xiphidium of authors) found in North America north of Mexico. Trans. Am. Entomol. Soc. 41: 155-224. See reference page at SINA for a pdf version.
Internet References
Insects of Cedar Creek
Singing Insects of North America: genus page, species list, synonym list.
Works Cited
1.American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico
By Ross H. Arnett
2.Orthoptera of Michigan
By Roger Bland
3.Field Guide To Grasshoppers, Katydids, And Crickets Of The United States
By John L. Capinera, Ralph D. Scott, Thomas J. Walker
4.How to Know the Grasshoppers, Cockroaches, and Their Allies
By Jacques R. Helfer
5.Insects of North Carolina
By C.S. Brimley
6.A Field Guide to Insects
By Richard E. White, Donald J. Borror, Roger Tory Peterson
Contributed by Cotinis on 13 September, 2004 - 9:15pm
Last updated 1 August, 2006 - 3:05pm

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