HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp

Clickable Guide

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Photos of insects and people from the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2024

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29

Previous events

TaxonomyBrowse

Info

ImagesLinksBooksData

Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids (Orthoptera) » Long-horned Orthoptera (Ensifera) » Katydids, Camel Crickets, and relatives (Tettigoniidea) » Katydids (Tettigoniidae) » Quiet-calling Katydids (Meconematinae) » Meconema » Drumming Katydid (Meconema thalassinum)

Species Meconema thalassinum - Drumming Katydid

Classification · Other Common Names · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · See Also · Internet References · Works Cited

Same Bug?? - Meconema thalassinum - female

Drumming Katydid - Meconema thalassinum - male

katydid nymph - Meconema thalassinum - female

Drumming Katydid - Meconema thalassinum - female

Katydid with Earwig-like Cerci - Meconema thalassinum - male

Meconema thalassinum - Drumming Katydid - Meconema thalassinum - female

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 Meconematinae (Quiet-calling Katydids)

Genus Meconema

Species thalassinum (Drumming Katydid)

Other Common Names

Oak Bush-Cricket, Sea-Green Katydid, Méconème Tambourinaire

Explanation of Names

At William Whitaker's Words, "thalassinum" translates to "sea-green".

Size

14 - 19 mm

Identification

A tiny, sea-green katydid with a tympanum fully exposed on each foretibia. Forewings longer than hindwings. No stridulatory area apparent at base of male forewings. Male cerci long, slender, tubular, curving upwards (1).

Range

Europe. Introduced into North America; currently Michigan & Ohio east to Atlantic coast; sw. British Columbia to w. Oregon, and likely still expanding. See also BugGuide range map for an indication of the expansion of the range into neighboring states.

Habitat

Deciduous trees and the vegetation beneath.

Season

July-November

Food

Mainly aphids

Life Cycle

One generation per year; overwinters as eggs laid in bark crevices.

Remarks

This species calls by drumming the hind tarsus on a leaf (1)

Commonly preyed upon by wasps in the genus Isodontia.

See Also

M. meridionale - like M. thalassinum but with tiny wings

Internet References

Singing Insects of North America has lots of info, range maps, and even a chart of the drumming sequence.

Works Cited

1.	Guide to Night-Singing Insects of the Northeast Michael DiGiorgio & John Himmelman. 2009. Stackpole Books.

Contributed by Tony DiTerlizzi on 17 October, 2004 - 5:18pm
Additional contributions by Hannah Nendick-Mason, Ethan Kistler, David Ferguson, Harsi S. Parker, metrioptera
Last updated 8 November, 2019 - 8:23am

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2025 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Printer Friendly Version