Orthoptera of North Carolina
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Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Family (Alpha):
ACRIDIDAE
GRYLLACRIDIDAE
GRYLLIDAE
GRYLLOTALPIDAE
RHAPHIDOPHORIDAE
ROMALEIDAE
TETRIGIDAE
TETTIGONIIDAE
TRIDACTYLIDAE
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Gryllidae Members:
Acheta domesticus
Anurogryllus arboreus
Gryllus unidentified species
Gryllus firmus
Gryllus fultoni
Gryllus pennsylvanicus
Gryllus pennsylvanicus/veletis
Gryllus pennsylvanicus-veletis
Gryllus rubens
Gryllus veletis
Miogryllus verticalis
Velarifictorus micado
Hapithus agitator
Orocharis unidentified species
Orocharis luteolira
Orocharis saltator
Cycloptilum unidentified species
Cycloptilum bidens
Cycloptilum pigrum
Cycloptilum slossoni
Cycloptilum tardum
Cycloptilum trigonipalpum
Cycloptilum velox
Myrmecophilus pergandei
Allonemobius allardi
Allonemobius fultoni
Allonemobius griseus griseus
Allonemobius griseus funeralis
Allonemobius maculatus
Allonemobius socius
Allonemobius sparsalsus
Allonemobius tinnulus
Allonemobius walkeri
Allonemobius unidentified species
Eunemobius carolinus
Eunemobius confusus
Eunemobius melodius
Eunemobius unidentified species
Neonemobius cubensis
Neonemobius palustris
Neonemobius variegatus
Pictonemobius ambitiosus complex
Pictonemobius ambitiosus
Pictonemobius hubbelli
Oecanthus unidentified species
Oecanthus celerinictus
Oecanthus exclamationis
Oecanthus fultoni
Oecanthus latipennis
Oecanthus nigricornis
Oecanthus niveus
Oecanthus pini
Oecanthus quadripunctatus
Neoxabea bipunctata
Phyllopalpus pulchellus
Anaxipha delicatula
Anaxipha exigua
Anaxipha litarena
Anaxipha rosamacula
Anaxipha thomasi
Anaxipha tinnula
Anaxipha tinnulacita
Anaxipha tinnulenta
Anaxipha vernalis
Anaxipha unidentified species
Cyrtoxipha columbiana
Falcicula hebardi
Gryllidae unidentified species
NC
Records
Anaxipha delicatula
(Scudder, 1878) - Chirping Trig
No image for this species.
Taxonomy
Family:
Gryllidae
Subfamily:
Trigonidiinae
Tribe:
Trigonidiini
Comments:
One of thirteen species in this genus that occur in North America north of Mexico (SINA, 2017); nine of which have been recorded in North Carolina. Delicatula is part of the Delicatula Species Group, which also includes A. vernalis.
Species Status:
Fulton (1951, 1956) treated both vernalis and delicatula under the name delicatula. In splitting the two into separate species, Walker and Funk (2014) assigned all of Fulton's records for delicatula to vernalis, except for one series from Carolina Beach.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions:
Online Photographs:
SINA, Google
Images
,
iNaturalist
,
GBIF
Technical Description, Adults/Nymphs:
Walker and Funk (2014)
SINA
618a.htm
Comments:
A very small, brown Trig. Unlike most members of the Exigua Group, it lacks a stripe on the lateral face of the femur (Walker and Funk, 2014). Structural features -- particularly the number of pegs on the stridulatory file -- must be examined to identify this species. This species is very similar in appearance and in genitalia to delicatula but they can be easily distinguished by their songs.
Total Length [body plus wings; excludes ovipositor]:
6.2-6.8 mm, males; 4.8-6.7 mm, females (Walker and Funk, 2014)
Structural Features:
Stridulatory file with about 73 teeth (range 66-77); ovipositor 1.3-1.6 mm, ratio of length of hind femur to ovipositor 3.0-3.3. Long-winged forms can be common at lights.
Singing Behavior:
Songs consist of series of nearly regular chirps -- short trills -- rather than the continuous trills characteristic of vernalis. The within-chirp pulse rate is about 79 pulses per second at 77 F (= 25°C), with the dominant frequency at 5.7 kHz. Anaxipha litarena -- which is found in the same tidewater areas at about the same season -- also has songs consisting of short pulse trains, but with a slower within-chirp pulse rate of about 66 pulses per sec at 77 F (25° C), but with a very similar dominant frequency at 5.9 kHz. Walker and Funk further distinguish these two species by characteristics of the pulse train (PT = chirp): "in delicatula the PT rate is nearly always faster, the PT durations are usually shorter, and the PT intervals are relatively longer." They note, however, that "in Florida the PT phrasing seems always to be useful in separating the two species by ear but this may not be the case in coastal North Carolina."
Nymphal Stages and Development:
Apparently undescribed but unlikely to be distinguishable
Distribution in North Carolina
County Map:
Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Adult Dates:
High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
Piedmont (Pd)
Coastal Plain (CP)
Click on graph to enlarge
Habitats and Life History
Habitats:
Occurs with tinnula in "in cordgrass marshes of coastal NC" (Walker and Funk, 2014); they also occur in "fresh water marshes, including lizardtail (Saururus) and cattails (Typha); on herbaceous undergrowth in riparian areas."
Diet:
Apparently unrecorded; possibly omnivorous
Observation Methods:
Singing males are most easily detected but they may also be captured using sweep netting
Abundance/Frequency:
We have no information on either the frequency of observations or abundance of this species in North Carolina
Adult Phenology:
Walker and Funk (2014) give dates between June and September for populations north of Florida
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
[W3]
Natural Heritage Program Ranks:
GNR [SU]
State Protection:
Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands
Comments:
This species reaches the northern extent of its range in North Carolina and except possibly for the specimens from Corolla, our few records are all historic. While it seems likely that the species still exists in the state, more surveys are needed to determine its current distribution and abundance.
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