Orchelimum silvaticum (McNeill 1891), Conocephalinae subfamily, Conocephalini tribe
silvÄticus (Latin): of the woods or forest; sylvan (Wiktionary)
adult female:
Orchelimum silvaticum are beautiful and graceful meadow katydids. Their gentle song adorns the summer soundscape in my area. They are not difficult to find in central Texas and are often seen in localised areas, such as in flower gardens and in grassy meadows teeming with wildflowers.
male nymph:
Through the years, I have raised and released many Orchelimum silvaticum, and here I will briefly describe 1) Housing and Care, 2) Life Cycle, 3) Moulting, 4) Song, 5) Mating, 6) Laying Eggs, and 7) Geriatrics.
Housing and Care
HOUSING
Housing for Orchelimum silvaticum is very similar to housing for the other katydids that I rear: a large mesh butterfly cage measuring 36" x 24" x 24". Inside the cage, I add various native plants in 4-inch pots. Since Orchelimum lay their eggs in the stems of plants, it's important to use plants with stems that are sufficiently thick to support the chew holes and eggs. In addition, the plants will need to be kept indoors and alive through winter for the next generation to hatch.
These are sample cages used for different genera, but are very similar to the cage for Orchelimum:
FOOD
Orchelimum silvaticum are fun to feed because they eat a wide variety of foods. I provide plenty of native plants in their cage for them to munch on along with supplemental foods. As with my other katydids, I provide organic Romaine lettuce, organic apple and carrot slices, rolled oats, cricket powder, sliced pecan/walnut/almond, nectar sponges, and fresh water.
adult males eating lettuce and eating oats:
tiny nymph eating cricket powder and adult male on butterfly sponge:
VIDEOS:
Cute
VIDEO of Orchelimum silvaticum munching an oat.
Another
VIDEO of O. silvaticum munching oats.
And a
VIDEO of adult female munching on lettuce (with sounds of singers).
Finger Foods:
And, of course, if all else fails, they are more than happy to eat your fingers. Here's one of my little guys munching a nice little hole in my finger:
VIDEO of O. silvaticum enjoying a bit of finger.
Life Cycle
As with other katydids, Orchelimum silvaticum are hemimetabolous, undergoing incomplete metamorphosis. This species appears to be univoltine in my area, hatching from overwintered eggs in late April and May, peaking in summer, and dying off through the fall season.
EGG
Orchelimum silvaticum eggs are elongate, light tan in colour, and measure just under 5 mm, usually 4.8 to 4.9 mm.
NYMPH
Newly hatched nymphs took about eight weeks to moult to full adult.
Newly hatched nymph:
young nymphs:
nymphs getting older:
older female just beginning to show ovipositor:
older male nymph:
NOTE: In the later instars, the male cerci show elongated points (what will be the teeth) on the insides (center). The Conocephalus nymphs that I raised had longer points on the outsides.
NOTE: In later instars, the curved ovipositor of O. silvaticum is clearly visible.
final-instar nymph female:
final-instar nymph male:
NOTE: In final instar, males show prominently the teeth that will become the "long spurs."
ADULT
The adult male is fully winged with the signature well-developed long-toothed cerci, and the female is fully winged with a well-developed curved ovipositor.
adult female and adult male:
Moulting
Newly moulted nymphs and adults generally eat the exuvia after moulting. Occasionally, an exuvia is dropped or abandoned.
female exuvia:
This freshly moulted final-instar nymph female is eating the exuvia:
VIDEOS of female final-instar nymph eating exuvia:
VIDEO of freshly moulted nymph eating exuvia (female final-instar nymph).
VIDEO of freshly moulted nymph eating exuvia (female final-instar nymph).
VIDEO of freshly moulted nymph eating exuvia (female final-instar nymph).
VIDEO of freshly moulted nymph eating exuvia (female final-instar nymph).
Here is a male nymph moulting to final instar:
Song
One of the most delightful aspects of rearing Orchelimum silvaticum is the joy of getting to listen to them sing during daylight hours. In captivity, mine sang throughout the day as well as in the evenings. The song is exceedingly pleasant: a soft, soothing, continuous buzz.
The SINA site offers examples of the
O. silvaticum song described as a rattle combined with a buzz.
Song VIDEOS from my Orchelimum silvaticum:
VIDEO of song with close-up shots.
VIDEO of song with close-up of tegmina.
VIDEO of song with four different views.
VIDEO of song with other background singers.
VIDEO of older male.
Mating
O. silvaticum male cerci:
The cerci of Orchelimum silvaticum with the long teeth appear to me to be the "grasping" style associated with prolonged copulation. Even so, it appears that the male produces a full spermatophylax.
Even though copulation in this species is likely prolonged, it's something that I very rarely witnessed with my O. silvaticum in captivity.
In these mating images, you can see the spermatophylax quite clearly.
Here is the same female immediately after mating, with the spermatophylax clearly visible:
Here, the female begins to eat parts of the spermatophylax:
Here again you can see the transfer of a full spermatophylax in this pair of mating O. silvaticum:
And here we see the pair separate, the transferred spermatophylax, and the female consuming the spermatophylax:
VIDEO of female consuming spermatophylax after mating. (with some singing sounds)
VIDEO of female consuming spermatophylax after mating.
Laying Eggs
gravid female:
Orchelimum silvaticum generally lay eggs in stems of plants by first chewing a starter hole and then curling the abdomen to insert the curved ovipositor into the stem and release the egg. Females then chew and patch up the holes.
female preparing stem for laying eggs:
Here, the female is laying eggs in the stem:
These are stem markings where Orchelimum silvaticum eggs have been laid:
VIDEOS of O. Sylvaticum laying eggs:
In this
VIDEO you can see the female chewing a starter hole in the stem and then inserting her ovipositor to lay eggs.
Here is a
VIDEO of the female working to prepare the stem where she will later successfully lay eggs.
Geriatrics
As with other katydids, Orchelimum silvaticum show clear signs of ageing: the wings become tattered and the colours change (becoming darker or fading). Sometimes limbs or parts of limbs are dropped and the antennae may break.
Here's a very old male with tattered wings:
And this very old female lays her eggs in a nectar sponge:
For my very old katydids, I set up separate assisted living cages to ensure that their food and drink are easily accessible and that they are kept safe and comfortable.
This beautiful species of katydid is a joy to raise, adding the sweet sound of summer to the daylight hours in my rearing room.
References
Silvaticus. Wiktionary. (n.d.). https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/silvaticus
Singing Insects of North America. (2023). Long-spurred Meadow Katydid Orchelimum silvaticum (McNeill 1891). https://orthsoc.org/sina/261a.htm
Resources
Elliot, L., & Hershberger, W. (2019, January 19). Long-spurred Meadow Katydid (Orchelimum silvaticum). Songs of Insects. http://songsofinsects.com/katydids/long-spurred-meadow-katydid
Orthoptera Species File. (n.d.). species Orchelimum (Orchelimum) silvaticum McNeill, 1891. Taxa hierarchy. http://orthoptera.speciesfile.org/Common/basic/Taxa.aspx?TaxonNameID=1133657
Rehn, J. A. G., & Hebard, M. (1915, March). A synopsis of the species of the genus Orchelimum. Studies in American Tettigoniidae (Orthoptera): IV. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25076932
.