Orthoptera of North Carolina

Family (Alpha):

View	Tettigoniidae Members:	NC Records
Amblycorypha oblongifolia (De Geer, 1773) - Oblong-Winged Katydid

Taxonomy

Family: Tettigoniidae	Subfamily: Phaneropterinae	Tribe: Amblycoryphini
Comments: One of seventeen species in this genus that occur in North America (Cigliano et al., accessed 2024-09-25; Forrest et al., 2023). Eight species have been recorded in North Carolina.
Species Status: Belongs to the Oblongifolia Species Group of Rehn and Hebard (1914) and Walker (2004), which in North Carolina, includes oblongifolia, carinata, and floridana. Species in this group have a deep humeral sinus and metasternal lobes that are longer than wide (Walker, 2004).

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions:	Online Photographs: BugGuide, Google Images, iNaturalist, GBIF	SINA 007a.htm
Comments: This is a bright green species, completely green in females but with a blackish-brown stridulatory field in males. There may also be a narrow black or black and pale line running along the lateral carinae of the pronotum. Pink and yellow forms are also known but uncommon.
Total Length [body plus wings; excludes ovipositor]: 21-23 mm, males; 22-25 mm, females (Blatchley, 1920)	Forewing Length: 36-38 mm, males; 35-37 mm, females (Blatchley, 1920)
Structural Features: This species is very similar to A. carinata but males have a stridulatory field that is much larger in area than the dorsal surface of the pronotum; in carinata, the two areas are similar in extent (Rehn and Hebard, 1914). The lateral carina of the pronotum are also more rounded in oblongifolia than in carinata, especially in the apical fourth, where the carina may be obsolete; in carinata, the carina are more sharply defined. The ovipositor is regularly arcuate in oblongifolia, armed with prominent teeth along the margins; in carinata, the ovipositor is straighter and the teeth are smaller (Rehn and Hebard, 1914).
Singing Behavior: Songs consist of short, two part buzzy trills, described as zeee-dik by Elliott and Hershberger (2007) or ski-di-deet or skritch-it by Himmelman (2009). Spectrograms show it as consisting of an initial closely spaced series of clicks followed by a short series of slightly more widely spaced clicks. The frequency range is fairly short, ranging from 8 to 13 kHz, with the lower end audible to the human ear. Songs of carinata are similar but usually lack the first, finely spaced group of syllables (see examples in the Macaulay Library). Songs of floridana, as described in Capinera et al. (2004) are quite different, composed of a much more drawn out series of clicks that increase in pulse rate.

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: Shrubby old fields, forest edges, and the edges of both fresh and saltwater marshes (Himmelman, 2009)

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: GNR SNR [S3S4]

State Protection:

Comments:

Image Gallery for Amblycorypha oblongifolia - Oblong-Winged Katydid
	Recorded by: Steve Hall Chatham Co. Comment: Heard in an herbaceous opening next to the Deep River	Recorded by: David George Chatham Co. Comment: Rocky River floodplain
	Recorded by: David George Chatham Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Simpson Eason Durham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: S. Carpenter Orange Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Kyle Kittelberger Wake Co. Comment:

Amblycorypha oblongifolia (De Geer, 1773) - Oblong-Winged Katydid

Image Gallery for Amblycorypha oblongifolia - Oblong-Winged Katydid