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

Genus Conocephalus - Lesser Meadow Katydids

Classification · Other Common Names · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Katy - Conocephalus brevipennis - male Conocephalus spartinae - female Conocephalus brevipennis - male Conocephalus saltans - female October songster - Conocephalus nemoralis - male grasshopper - Conocephalus fasciatus - female 3023246 G-hopper - Conocephalus saltans - female Conocephalus gracillimus - male
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 Conocephalus (Lesser Meadow Katydids)
Other Common Names
Smaller Meadow Katydids
Explanation of Names
Conocephalus Thunberg 1815
Numbers
18 spp. in our area, ~160 total (arranged in 7 subgenera)(1)
not yet in the Guide:
C. allardi - Allard's Meadow Katydid (so. Appalachians)
C. dorsalis - Eurasian Meadow Katydid (BC, adventive)
C. nigropleuroides - Tidewater Meadow Katydid (coastal marshes, NJ to TX, absent from south Florida)
Size
10-27 mm (head to wingtip), body 12-17 mm
Identification
See here(2). Orchelimum spp. tend to be larger and chunkier. Females of Conocephalus usually have straight ovipositors, vs curved in Orchelimum. Many Conocephalus seem to have a clear green "face", while many Orchelimum have some white mottling or other coloration such as red.
Range
most of the world(1)
Habitat
Fields, meadows
Season
Jul-Oct (Michigan, North Carolina)(3)(4), 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.(3)
Life Cycle
Females oviposit in grass-stems. One generation per year.
Print References
(5)(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. Ent. Soc. 41: 155-224. (Full text)
Internet References
genus page • species list • synonym list(2)
Works Cited
1.Orthoptera Species File Online
2.Singing Insects of North America
3.Orthoptera of Michigan
Roger Bland. 2003. Michigan State University Extension.
4.Insects of North Carolina
C.S. Brimley. 1938. North Carolina Department of Agriculture.
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.
6.How to Know the Grasshoppers, Cockroaches, and Their Allies
Jacques R. Helfer. 1962. Wm. C. Brown Company.
Contributed by Cotinis on 13 September, 2004 - 9:15pm
Additional contributions by Chuck Entz, Mike Quinn, v belov, Chuck Sexton, Tyler Hedlund
Last updated 2 March, 2023 - 9:28pm

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