Orthoptera of North Carolina

Family (Alpha):

View	Tettigoniidae Members:	NC Records
Neoconocephalus triops (Linnaeus, 1758) - Broad-Tipped Conehead

Taxonomy

Family: Tettigoniidae

Subfamily: Copiphorinae

Tribe: Copiphorini

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions:

Online Photographs: BugGuide, Google Images, iNaturalist, GBIF

SINA 191a.htm

Comments: This is a fairly large but slender katydid. Both green and brown color phases commonly occur. The broad, rounded fastigium with a narrow anterior rim of white and a basal area of black, is diagnostic.

Structural Features: Characteristics of the fastigium (cone) are diagnostic; this is the only one of our species where the fastigium is wider than long. In N. retusus, whose flight period overlaps that of triops in the fall, the fastigium is also rounded but narrower than wide. Females of retusus can also be recognized by their ovipositors, which extend well beyond the tips of the tegmina, whereas in triops, the ovipositor is much shorter and usually concealed beneath the tegmina.

Structural photos

Singing Behavior: Songs are composed of long buzzes, with the spectrograms showing most of the energy concentrated in a band between 7 and 14 kHz. Fulton (1932) noted that the songs sometimes showed "brief breaks occurring at intervals of a few seconds." Walker found the same pattern in Florida populations and originally believed they could represent two distinct species. However, in a study by Whitsell and Walker (1978), a single species produces both forms: a spring song, given by males that have overwintered as adults, and consisting of unbroken buzzes; and a summer song, given by males that reach adulthood in the spring, consisting of buzzes that are interrupted at regular intervals. In North Carolina, both forms occur as early as April, with the summer song also recorded in July. Whereas the summer songs in Florida are broken at intervals of about 1 sec, the interval between breaks is over 2 sec in our area.

Recording playback at normal speed.

Download Video: "MP4"

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: Fulton (1932) described a preference for vegetation consisting of tall grass, weeds, or bushes. In the winter, we have also found them well back within closed-canopy forests.

Diet:

Observation Methods: Usually most easily detected by male songs, at least for people whose hearing range includes frequencies above 8 kHz. This species also comes to light, including black lights. Handle specimens with care since they have a sharp bite.

Abundance/Frequency:

Adult Phenology:

See also Habitat Account for General Forests and Fields

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR S5

State Protection:

Comments: This is one of our commonest and most widespread of our orthopteran species. It makes use of a wide range of habitats and appears to be secure within the state.

Image Gallery for Neoconocephalus triops - Broad-Tipped Conehead
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Brunswick Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Rich Teper Chatham 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 and Donald Zepp Johnston Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Owen McConnell Graham 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 and Donald Zepp Johnston Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger and Donald Zepp Johnston Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger and Donald Zepp Johnston Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Mark Basinger and Becky Elkin Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Mark Basinger and Becky Elkin Buncombe Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Mark Basinger and Becky Elkin Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik Chatham Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Brunswick Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Brunswick Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George Chatham Co. Comment:	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik Chatham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: R. Newman Carteret Co. Comment:	Recorded by: R. Newman Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: R. Newman Carteret Co. Comment:	Recorded by: R. Newman Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Steve Hall and Dee Stuckey Orange Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Brunswick Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Owen McConnell Graham Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Steve Hall, David George, Jeff Niznik Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn New Hanover Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Owen McConnell Graham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: John Petranka Orange Co. Comment:	Recorded by: R. Newman Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Michael P. Morales Cumberland Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Steve Hall and Bo Sullivan Moore Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: R. Newman Carteret Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Steve Hall and Bo Sullivan Moore Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Steve Hall Orange Co. Comment:	Recorded by: R. Newman Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Michael P. Morales Cumberland Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Michael P. Morales Cumberland Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Michael P. Morales Cumberland Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Owen McConnell Durham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka Madison Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Jim Petranka Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel Mecklenburg Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel Mecklenburg Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel Mecklenburg Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel Mecklenburg Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Stephen Hall and Bo Sullivan Moore Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Stephen Hall and Bo Sullivan Moore Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Stephen Hall and Bo Sullivan Moore Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Steve Hall Orange Co. Comment: Summer song
	Recorded by: Stephen Hall Orange Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Stephen Hall Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Shields Onslow Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Shields Onslow Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Simpson Eason Durham Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Simpson Eason Durham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Shields Onslow Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Steve Hall Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Vin Stanton Buncombe Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Owen McConnell Graham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Steve Hall and Dee Stuckey Orange Co. Comment: Summer song type; ~ 72 F	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Steve Hall Orange Co. Comment: Spring Song	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin Madison Co. Comment: Female
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin Madison Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin Madison Co. Comment: Male
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin Madison Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: J.B. Sullivan Iredell Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel Mecklenburg Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel Mecklenburg Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel Mecklenburg Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: L. Amos Vance Co. Comment:	Recorded by: F. Williams, S. Williams Gates Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Stephen Hall Orange Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Newman, Randy Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: T. DeSantis, FKW, SBW Camden Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Newman, Randy Carteret Co. Comment:

MP3 Gallery for Neoconocephalus triops - Broad-Tipped Conehead
1	Recorded by: Steve Hall and Dee Stuckey Orange Co. 2019-04-28 Large chorus heard singing from grass on powerline right-of-way. Started singing at dusk, around 20:00.

Neoconocephalus triops (Linnaeus, 1758) - Broad-Tipped Conehead

Image Gallery for Neoconocephalus triops - Broad-Tipped Conehead

MP3 Gallery for Neoconocephalus triops - Broad-Tipped Conehead