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Genus Orchelimum - Greater Meadow Katydids
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 Conocephalinae (Coneheads and Meadow Katydids)
Tribe Conocephalini (Meadow Katydids)
Genus Orchelimum (Greater Meadow Katydids)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes Orchelimum Serville, 1839 Explanation of Names The etymology of this genus name is obscure. Orche is perhaps related to the Greek orchestra, from orchesthai to dance. There is also an Old French word orchel, or archel referring to a type of violet dye. (Based on Internet searches and various print dictionaries.)
The limum or imum is obscure. Limum is Latin for "mire", or "muck", but perhaps the word is from Greek leimon meadow. (Source: Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary.) So this is a "meadow dancer" or a "muck dancer"?
Perhaps, however, Orche is related to orchis, Greek, testicle, (plural orches) which is the origin of the botanical orchids. A tough one! Numbers Arnett (1) and Nearctica (2) list 21 species. Identification Compare the, usually smaller, slimmer, Lesser Meadow Katydids, Conocephalus. 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.
Most species are identified via examining the structure of the male cerci, see Capinera fig. 60 (3) or Singing Insects of North America. Range Eastern and central North America, at least one species reaches California in west. Habitat Fields, meadows. Prefer wetter areas more than Conocephalus? Season Typically late summer to frost. August-November (North Carolina), July-October (Michigan) Food Food habits similar to Conocephalus, eating flowers and seed os forbs, grasses, sedge fruits. Sometimes feed on leaves, flowers, and pollen of forbs and grasses. Occasionally predaceous and cannibalistic, more so than Conocephalus. (4)Life Cycle Oviposit in grass-stems, presumably, as does the related genus Conocephalus. One generation per year. Print References
Brimley, p. 20, gives season. (5)
Capinera, pp. 178-181, plate 39, fig. 60 (3)
Helfer pp. 265-266, fig. 408 (6)
Rehn JAG, Hebard M. 1915a. Studies in American Tettigoniidae. IV. A synopsis of the species of the genus Orchelimum. Trans. Am. Entomol. Soc. 41: 11-83. See references at SINA for a pdf version. Internet References Singing Insects of North America-- genus description, species listWorks Cited | 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. | Orthoptera of Michigan
Roger Bland. 2003. Michigan State University Extension. | |
| 5. | Insects of North Carolina
C.S. Brimley. 1938. North Carolina Department of Agriculture. | |
Contributed by Cotinis on 13 September, 2004 - 9:20pm Last updated 31 August, 2010 - 3:02am |
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