Orthoptera of North Carolina

Family (Alpha):

View	Tettigoniidae Members:	NC Records
Conocephalus brevipennis (Scudder, 1862) - Short-Winged Meadow Katydid

Male

Female

Taxonomy

Family: Tettigoniidae	Subfamily: Conocephalinae	Tribe: Conocephalini
Comments: One of nineteen species in this large worldwide genus that occur in North America north of Mexico (SINA, 2018; Cigliano et al., 2018); ten have been recorded in North Carolina

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions:

Online Photographs: BugGuide, Google Images, iNaturalist, GBIF

SINA 234a.htm

Comments: A small, short-winged Lesser Meadow Katydid. The dorsal surface of the head, thorax, tegmina, and abdomen are usually dark brown to reddish brown. The face, sides of the head and thorax, and legs are usually green but often speckled with brown. Two pale lines border the dark dorsal stripe on the pronotum and some individuals have a yellowish shade towards the end of the abdomen, including the cerci. Several other short-winged Meadow Katydids are similar in size, color, and pattern and are best distinguished by the male cerci.

Total Length [body plus wings; excludes ovipositor]: 11-12.5 mm, males; 11-14 mm, females (Blatchley, 1920)

Structural Features: The cerci have a strong tooth at the midpoint and are strongly flattened on the interior side beyond the tooth. The ovipositor is fairly straight, with the lower margin tapering upward to an acute apex (Blatchley, 1920). The tegmina are usually shorter than the abdomen but long-winged forms occur rarely. Blatchley and others state that the tegmina in the males reaches the base of the cerci, with those of females covering 2/3 of the abdomen. However, males in our populations frequently have tegmina that are much shorter, covering only 2/3 to 3/4 of the abdomen.

Structural photos

Singing Behavior: Fulton (1932) describes the songs as consisting of alternating short notes -- lisps -- and longer buzzes. The lisps are given in a series of 3 or 4 between the buzzes, which can single or given in a series of two or three between the sequences of lisps. The entire song seems faint to human hearing and can at best be detected from just a few feet away. It is actually very loud, however, but most of the energy is concentrated from 10 to over 20 khz, with only the very lower end audible to humans.

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:

Diet:

Observation Methods:

Abundance/Frequency:

Adult Phenology:

See also Habitat Account for General Successional Fields and Forblands

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 S5

State Protection:

Comments:

Conocephalus brevipennis (Scudder, 1862) - Short-Winged Meadow Katydid

Image Gallery for Conocephalus brevipennis - Short-Winged Meadow Katydid

Image Gallery for Conocephalus brevipennis - Short-Winged Meadow Katydid
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Nash Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger and Donald Zepp Johnston Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Brunswick Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Columbus Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Columbus Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Carteret Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Onslow Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Onslow Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger and Donald Zepp Johnston Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger and Donald Zepp Johnston Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Columbus Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Columbus Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Columbus Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Columbus Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Brunswick Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Richmond Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Richmond Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Scotland Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Scotland Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Davidson Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Davidson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Montgomery Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Montgomery Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Stanly Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Stanly Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Rowan Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Rowan Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Rowan Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Rowan Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Columbus Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Columbus Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Columbus Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Columbus Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Columbus Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Columbus Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Brunswick Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Steve Hall and Savannah Hall Orange Co. Comment: 75F at dusk	Recorded by: Mark Basinger and Donald Zepp Johnston Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger and Donald Zepp Johnston Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger, Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger, Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin Madison Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger, Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger, Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin Madison Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger, Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Buncombe Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Alamance Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Alamance Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Buncombe Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Duplin Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Duplin Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin Madison Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Sampson Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Sampson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Bladen Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Bladen Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Bladen Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Bladen Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Steve Hall Chatham Co. Comment: One or two evenly spaced clicks in betwee buzzes that last for about 1 second. Recorded in a remnant of an old filed next to an abandoned homsite.	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment:	Recorded by: David George Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Heather Russell Guilford Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Heather Russell Guilford Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel Mecklenburg Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel Mecklenburg Co. Comment:	Recorded by: John Petranka Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: John Petranka Durham Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Steve Hall and Bo Sullivan Moore Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Steve Hall, Carol Tingley, Van Cotter, and Meriel Goodwin Durham Co. Comment:	Recorded by: John Petranka Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Simpson Eason Durham Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel Mecklen Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Vin Stanton Buncombe Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Vin Stanton Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel Mecklenburg Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel Mecklenburg Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Tracy S. Feldman Scotland Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Tracy S. Feldman Scotland Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Tracy S. Feldman Scotland Co. Comment:	Recorded by: L. Amos Vance Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Stephen Hall Orange Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Stephen Hall Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Stephen Hall Orange Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Stephen Hall Ashe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Stephen Hall Ashe Co. Comment: Male with yellowish abdominal apex	Recorded by: Stephen Hall Ashe Co. Comment: Male showing blackish shade on its face
	Recorded by: Stephen Hall Franklin Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Stephen Hall; SPHALL Northhampton Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: T. DeSantis Camden Co. Comment: