Orthoptera of North Carolina

Family (Alpha):

View	Tettigoniidae Members:	NC Records
Conocephalus nemoralis (Scudder, 1875) - Woodland Meadow Katydid

Macropterous 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 233a.htm
Comments: This is a dark blackish-green species with contrasting yellowish-brown tegmina. The face is typically dark brown with two pale lines extending from the fastigium along the sides of the vertex. These pale lines are continued along the lateral carinae of the pronotum, bordering a median area of paler brownish green. The lateral faces of the pronotum are dark, blackish-green, which continues along the sides of the abdomen. The dorsal surface of the abdomen, however, is a contrasting yellow-brown. The tegmina, including the stridulatory field, has dark brown membranes bordered by the veins, which are a paler yellow-brown, giving them a strongly reticulated appearance.
Total Length [body plus wings; excludes ovipositor]: 13-14 mm, males; 14-15 mm, females (Blatchley, 1920)
Structural Features: This is a robust species, somewhat intermediate in appearance between typical Conocephalus species and Orchelimum. Tegmina usually cover 2/3 of the abdomen in males and 1/2 in females but are "very rarely fully developed, their tips broadly rounded; veins and cross-veins unusually prominent, giving them a coarse and scabrous look" (Scudder, 1875; Rehn and Hebard, 1910; Blatchley, 1920).
Singing Behavior: Songs are similar to other members of this genus, consisting of series of buzzes interspersed with clicks. Fulton (1932) described the songs of this species as consisting of "very faint buzzing notes, audible only a few yards away"; the lowest part of their frequency range is about 10 khz, which is close to the upper limit of human hearing. Fulton describes the phrasing of the songs as 1 or 2 buzzes per second, and with occasional rapid lisping notes preceding the buzzes. According to the Songs of Insects (2024), the buzzes can be given at uneven intervals. Examples on the Macaulay libary, however, show more-or-less evenly spaced pulses.

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: Blatchley (1920) describes the habitat consisting of successional habitats consisting of coarse weeds, blackberries, and low shrubs; also occurs along woodland margins, fence rows, and other open habitats.

Diet:

Observation Methods:

Abundance/Frequency:

Adult Phenology:

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR [SU]

State Protection:

Comments:

Image Gallery for Conocephalus nemoralis - Woodland Meadow Katydid
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin Madison Co. Comment: Long-winged form. Identification based partly on the prominent pale veins on the wings		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin Madison Co. Comment:

Conocephalus nemoralis (Scudder, 1875) - Woodland Meadow Katydid

Image Gallery for Conocephalus nemoralis - Woodland Meadow Katydid