Conocephalus strictus (Scudder 1875)
subfamily: Conocephalinae Kirby & Spence, 1826
tribe: Conocephalini (Kirby & Spence, 1826)
genus: Conocephalus (Thunberg, 1815)
subgenus: Anisoptera (Latreille, 1829) (Orthoptera Species File)
strictus (Latin, participle): drawn (a sword) (Wiktionary)
female and male Conocephalus strictus; female C. strictus:
Conocephalus strictus are beautiful and elegant meadow katydids found in grasslands and meadows. They are univoltine and overwinter as eggs. In central Texas, this species is fairly common and for rearing are most easily collected as young nymphs.
sample habitat for Conocephalus strictus:
My experience with this species is limited to collecting young nymphs and raising them to adult. Here I will briefly describe 1) Housing and Care, 2) Life Cycle, 3) Mating, and 4) Geriatrics.
male nymph grooming:
Housing and Care
For Conocephalus strictus housing, I use my standard katydid cage, a large mesh butterfly cage measuring 36" x 24" x 24". Inside each cage, I place different native plants in four-inch pots. As with
Orchelimum, Conocephalus strictus like flowering plants and a variety of broad-leaved native plants.
Conocephalus strictus cage:
When I have adults ready to lay eggs, I add dishes of soil substrate to the cages.
Inside one cage, a final-instar nymph male nibbles on Lantana leaves:
FOOD
In addition to native plants for munching, I provide my usual katydid fare of organic Romaine lettuce, organic apple and carrot slices, rolled oats, cricket powder, sliced pecan/walnut/almond, nectar sponges, and fresh water.
adult female drinking from nectar sponge:
adult female eating cricket powder:
adult males munching on rolled oats:
adult female munching on apple:
Cute
VIDEO of Conocephalus strictus adult male eating an oat.
Life Cycle
EGG
Conocephalus strictus eggs are laid in soil or in stems of plants. The eggs are elongate, cream to light tan in colour, and measure approximately 5.5 mm.
NYMPH
Nymphs have the typical meadow katydid appearance and this species has speckled legs.
young nymph male:
young nymph females showing the beginnings of an ovipositor:
male nymphs and female nymph:
late-instar nymph female:
Older male nymphs' cerci show a longer part on the outsides and a shorter tooth on the inside.
In this male nymph, the shorter tooth on the inside is just becoming distinctive:
final-instar nymph male:
final-instar nymph male:
final-instar nymph females:
ADULT
adult males, showing cerci:
In my area, both nymphs and adults are usually green, but there are also "blond" form individuals.
blond form young nymph, later-instar female, final-instar female nymph, and adult females:
SONG
I was not able to record the song of Conocephalus strictus. The sound is very soft and any sounds mine made were completely drowned out by my many other singers. The SINA site has a recording of their
song, which is described by various sources listed on the
Montana Field Guide page as a soft, faint continuous whir.
Mating
male cerci:
I believe the cerci of male Conocephalus strictus are associated with brief copulation, as with the similar Conocephalus fuscus of Europe (Vahed et al., 2014). I very rarely saw this species in copula.
My guess is that a full spermatophylax (vs. simple spermatophore) is produced and transferred, even though it is not clear from the very few photos I was able to get.
Here is a female shortly after mating:
Geriatrics
In good conditions, adult Conocephalus strictus can live for several months. In captivity, my adults began to show ageing by the end of July and through August and September. As my katydids get old and weaken, I move them to special assisted living cages where food and drink are easily accessible and where they can be kept safe and comfortable. At this stage, nectar sponges are crucial for their well-being.
Signs of ageing are pronounced in this species. Very old Conocephalus strictus often lose limbs and antennal parts. With lost limbs, mobility is impaired. Wings become tattered and the katydids generally darken in colour. The ovipositors often split open in very old females.
split ovipositor in an old female:
Older males and females become "tame" and will readily walk on my hand when I reach in the cage to change out their food and drink.
senior female in assisted living cage eating lettuce:
senior female and male on lettuce and apple:
senior males on apple and lettuce:
And, finally, this was a female that I collected as an adult on October 23, 2020. She overwintered with me and lived until May 1, 2021. As a very, very old katydid, she had turned completely purple, but still did well in her assisted living cage. Here she is in March 2021 on her nectar sponge and on apple, and then in late April, four days before her passing, also on her nectar sponge:
cute
VIDEO of older male grooming.
These katydids are a pleasure to raise. One thing to be careful of is that they are quite hoppy and can hop out of the cage when it is opened. I block the opening with my body and watch carefully for anyone near the zipper opening. It's important to provide good plants, soil substrate for laying eggs, and supplemental foods for these guys.
References
Orthoptera Species File. (n.d.). species Conocephalus (Anisoptera) strictus (Scudder, 1875). Taxa hierarchy. http://orthoptera.speciesfile.org/Common/basic/Taxa.aspx?TaxonNameID=1133414
Singing Insects of North America. (2023). Straight-lanced Meadow Katydid Conocephalus strictus (Scudder 1875). https://orthsoc.org/sina/238a.htm
Straight-lanced Meadow Katydid — Conocephalus strictus. Montana Field Guide. Montana Natural Heritage Program. https://FieldGuide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=IIORT66060
Strictus. Wiktionary. (n.d.). https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/strictus
Vahed, K., Gilbert, J. D. J., Weissman, D. B., & Barrientos-Lozano, L. (2014, July). Functional equivalence of grasping cerci and nuptial food gifts in promoting ejaculate transfer in katydids. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24724547/
.