Orthoptera of North Carolina

Family (Alpha):

View	Tettigoniidae Members:	NC Records
Odontoxiphidium apterum Morse, 1901 - Wingless Meadow Katydid

Taxonomy

Family: Tettigoniidae	Subfamily: Conocephalinae	Tribe: Conocephalini
Comments: This is one of two members of this strictly southeastern North American genus (Cigliano et al., 2024). Only O. apterum occurs in North Carolina with O. apalachicolae confined to the Appalachicola delta.
Species Status: Very similar to Conocephalus species but females are nearly wingless and males have cerci with two spurs rather than just one.

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions:	Online Photographs: BugGuide, Google Images, iNaturalist, GBIF	SINA 241a.htm
Comments: A small, green and brown meadow katydid. The top of the head, pronotum, and abdomen are reddish-brown, bordered by a bright white line that runs along the lateral carinae of the pronotum and continuing along the upper sides of the abdomen. The sides of the head, thorax, and abdomen are green, although Blatchley (1920) describes males as having brown-sided abdomens and females as having completely brown abdomens. All of the femors are green with thick speckling of reddish-brown. In specimens we have examined, the apex of the femurs have a dark brown spot and the eyes are pearly white with a slight purplish shading. Specimens of Conocephalus strictus and the green form of C. saltans can be similar in color and pattern and the structural differences between these species must be used to distinguish between them.
Total Length [body plus wings; excludes ovipositor]: 11-14 mm, males; 11-18 mm, females (Blatchley, 1920)
Structural Features: Females lack obvious wings (vestigial remnants are hidden under the pronotum). Males possess tegmina but they are shorter than the pronotum and oval in shape (Blatchley, 1920). The cerci of the males are slender, sub-cylindrical, and elongate. Both a short basal dorsal tooth is present -- found only in this genus -- and a longer postmedian lateral tooth.
Singing Behavior: Songs consist of continuous series of buzzes with very short separations between them.

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

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Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: [GNR] [SU]

State Protection:

Comments:

Image Gallery for Odontoxiphidium apterum - Wingless Meadow Katydid
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger and Donald Zepp Richmond Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger and Donald Zepp Richmond Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger and Donald Zepp Richmond Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger and Donald Zepp Richmond Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger, Jim Petranka, and Becky Elkin Richmond Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger, Jim Petranka, and Becky Elkin Richmond Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger, Jim Petranka, and Becky Elkin Richmond Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger, Jim Petranka, and Becky Elkin Moore Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger, Jim Petranka, and Becky Elkin Moore Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger, Jim Petranka, and Becky Elkin Richmond Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger, Jim Petranka, and Becky Elkin Richmond Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Steve Hall, Laurie Hamon, Carol Tingley, Tom Howard, and Pat Coin Richmond Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger, Jim Petranka, and Becky Elkin Richmond Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger, Jim Petranka, and Becky Elkin Richmond Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Stephen Hall Richmond Co. Comment: Probably a juvenile male, with the tegmina not yet developed	Recorded by: Becky Elkin, Jim Petranka, Steve Hall, and Mark Basinger Moore Co. Comment: Probably an adult female, with tegmina vestigial and/or concealed under the pronotum

Odontoxiphidium apterum Morse, 1901 - Wingless Meadow Katydid

Image Gallery for Odontoxiphidium apterum - Wingless Meadow Katydid