short-winged meadow katydid

not listed

NNR - Unranked

not listed

Short-winged meadow katydid is a small, easily overlooked, lesser meadow katydid. It occurs in the United States and southern Canada east of the Great Plains and in southern Mexico. It is common in the east, less common in Minnesota, where it reaches the western extent of its range. Adults are found from early August to late September in wet fields, damp meadows, and marshes, on roadsides, and in shaded areas at the edges of streams. They can be difficult to find. When approached, they will stretch out and cling to the underside of a grass blade.

Adults are slender and ½″ to ⅝″ (12 to 16 mm) in length.

The head is slanted in front. When viewed from the side, the face is at an angle less than 90° to the top of the head. At the top of the head (vertex) a rounded projection projects beyond the bases of the antennae but not beyond the first antennal segment. The antennae are slender and long, much longer than the body. A dark brown to almost black stripe extends from the top of the head to the wing bases. The face is green with scattered black dots.

On the underside of the thorax, the frontmost plate (prosternum) has two spines.

The abdomen is mostly green but orange at the tip and brown above. On the female the egg-laying appendage (ovipositor) at the end of the abdomen is blade-like, sharply pointed, slender, straight, and long, as long as or slightly shorter than the abdomen. On the male, the pair of appendages at the tip of the abdomen (cerci) are orange. There is a single tooth on the inner margin at or before the middle of each cercus. Beyond the tooth the cercus is flattened or concave on the inner surface.

The forewings (tegmina) are leathery, brown, translucent, and usually short. They normally cover one-third to four-fifths of the abdomen. They rarely extend beyond the end of the abdomen.

The legs are green. On the front legs, the third segment (femur) has no spines on the underside. On the front and middle legs, the fourth segment (tibia) has six well-spaced spines on the underside. On the hind legs, the femur has no spines on the underside, and the tibia has three pairs of spurs at the end. The last part of each leg (tarsus), corresponding to the foot, has four segments.

½″ to ⅝″ (12 to 16 mm)

The song of the male is faint, buzzing, and very high pitched. It consists of one to five ticks, followed by a buzz lasting one-half to two seconds. The series is repeated three to five times in five seconds. Most of the sound is in the 10 to 20 kHz range. Most adult humans above the age of 25 cannot hear sounds above 15 kHz.

Damp meadows and marshes and at the edges of streams

Early August to late September (CCESR)

Sources

24, 27, 29, 30, 82, 83.

Common

Conocephalus brevipennis (short-winged meadow katydid)

Conocephalis brevipennis, short-winged meadow katydid, photographed on Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI on October 9, 2021. They're difficult to photograph, as the ones I've seen stay low in the grasses.

Location: Albany, NY

Location: Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI

Conocephalis brevipennis, short-winged meadow katydid, photographed on Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI on October 9, 2021. They're difficult to photograph, as the ones I've seen stay low in the grasses.

Location: Woodbury, MN

Location: Slinger, Wisconsin