In America north of Mexico, the subfamily Gryllinae includes more than 20 species in 7 genera. Three species, in three genera, were brought to North American from elsewhere: Acheta domesticus (house cricket), Gryllodes sigillatus (tropical house cricket), and Velarifictorus micado (Japanese burrowing cricket). Gryllus (field crickets) is the most widespread and diverse genus. Miogryllus saussurei and M. lineatus (eastern and western striped crickets) resemble small field crickets. Gryllita arizonae (Arizona cricket) is a small, uniform-colored cricket found in southern Arizona and New Mexico. Two species of Anurogryllus (short-tailed crickets) complete the roster. " http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/s464a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Gryllotalpidae text Gryllotalpidae http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#Biology Family Gryllotalpidae (mole crickets) in North America north of Mexico "
No other crickets have mole-like forelegs. Antennae shorter than body; foretibia with two or four strong blade-like projections; first two segments of foretarsus developed into blades; body cylindrical and covered with short dense pubescence; hindfemur not reaching tip of abdomen. Length 19-50 mm.
\n\nMole crickets include the largest and the most destructive crickets in North America. Four of our seven species are immigrants.
\n\nBurrowing
\n\nMole crickets spend nearly all their lives underground. They occupy extensive tunnel systems within which they can move, forward or backward, with great speed--as can be demonstrated by allowing one to tunnel in damp sand in a container with a transparent bottom (such as a glass bowl or clear plastic dish). When dug up, they do not leap away like other burrow-inhabiting crickets but dig their way back underground with powerful strokes of the forelegs. The dirt is simply forced aside. Other burrowing crickets have much slower digging techniques. Short-tailed crickets (Anurogryllus), for example, carry dirt away one mouthful at a time. Mole crickets often tunnel immediately beneath the surface and leave trails of pushed-up soil that resemble, in miniature, the surface tunnels of mammalian moles. The burrowing techniques of mole crickets restrict them to sandy, friable, or nearly saturated soils.
\n\nFlight
\n\nAlthough mole crickets appear heavy and clumsy, many are capable fliers. In some species, all individuals have the long hindwings necessary for flight. In others, some or all individuals have short hindwings and cannot fly. Capturing mole crickets as they end their flights at simulations of their conspecific calls or at bright lights is far easier than extracting them from soil.
\n\nFood
\n\nMole crickets eat both plant and animal matter, with some species being mostly herbivorous and others mostly carnivorous. Our three species of two-clawed mole crickets (Scapteriscus) damage lawns, golf courses, pastures, and crops, mostly by feeding on roots and leaves but also by cutting roots and uprooting seedlings as they tunnel.
\n\nOviposition and social behavior
\n\nFemale mole crickets lack an external ovipositor and lay eggs in their burrows or in special chambers that they then seal off. The females of northern and European mole crickets stay with their eggs and young nymphs. It is not known when the relationship is terminated nor to what extent the mothers provide protection and food. Mole crickets have anal glands from which they can expel a sticky liquid that may thwart insect predators such as ants.
\n\nMating occurs within the burrow and the male's courtship song can be heard issuing from the ground during the day as well as at night. Observations in glass-sided burrows reveal that the male sometimes enlarges the burrow to give the female room to mount. In at least one species, the northern mole cricket, matings are initiated tail-to-tail with the male lying on his back! A female may mate several times with the same male at intervals of 10 or 15 minutes, but once she no longer responds to the male's courtship, the pair fights and one leaves the burrow system. Perhaps in the wild the male leaves or is driven away, with the female taking over the tunnel system for egg laying
\n\nLife cycles
\n\nMole crickets generally require a year or more to develop and they overwinter in all stages except the egg and small nymph. The only populations that have more than one generation per year are southern and short-winged mole crickets in south Florida. Two-year life cycles have been documented for the northern mole cricket in the Carolinas. Longer life cycles seem likely for more northern populations and for larger mole crickets, but these have not been studied.
\n\nAcoustic behavior
\n\nSince soil transmits sound poorly, crickets that remain earthbound are unlikely to use sound for long range communication. Indeed, the calling of mole crickets seems to be directed largely or entirely to those that are flying. In the two European and three U.S. species that have been most thoroughly studied, males construct special burrows for calling. These have horn-shaped openings to the outside and are of appropriate dimensions and design to augment the sound and project it skyward. Calling to the sky would make little sense except that in these species females fly prior to mating and can locate mating partners by flying to the source of calls. Such a link between flying and calling is evident in the three species of two-clawed mole crickets (Scapteriscus). The two that fly project their calls upward and flying conspecifics land at or near the calls. The one that cannot fly does not call, though it retains a courtship song.
\n\nSound production by female mole crickets is somewhat a mystery. On rare occasions, when in contact with other mole crickets, females have been heard making sounds as they rub their wings together. S.M. Ulagaraj tape recorded and analyzed such sounds of a female tawny mole cricket. D.A. Nickle and T.C. Carlysle (1975) found toothed crossveins that may function in stridulation on the upper surface of the left forewing of females of tawny and southern mole crickets. They also reported male-like files (beneath the right forewing) in females of European and prairie mole crickets and summarized what was known of female sound production. Females seem to produce sounds during aggression or defense.
\n\nTwo aspects of hearing in mole crickets are puzzling. Firstly, the young nymphs of two-clawed mole crickets have perfectly-formed, completely exposed tympana. In other crickets, the tympana are not evident in the early instars and are fully developed only in the adult. Dave Yager, in a pilot study, established that some southern mole cricket nymphs had hearing similar to, but generally less sensitive than, the adult. The function and exact nature of precocious hearing in mole crickets are unexplored. Secondly, all songs of mole crickets have dominant frequencies of less than 5 kHz, yet Nobuo Suga determined that the northern mole cricket (or a close Amazonian relative) hears best at 20-30 kHz. The specimens he studied had flown to lights. Perhaps mole crickets that fly have their hearing evolutionarily tuned to detect the ultrasonic pulses of insectivorous bats.
\n\nRemarks
\n\nThe so-called ""pygmy mole crickets"" (Tridactylidae), once assumed to be closely related to mole crickets are now placed in a different suborder of Orthoptera (Caelifera). The sharing of mole-like features by these two insect groups is a result of evolutionary convergence rather than their having a mole-like common ancestor. Pygmy mole crickets are less than 10 mm and their forelegs have no tibial tympanum or tarsal blades.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/s341a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref1 Eneopterinae text Eneopterinae http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#Biology Subfamily Eneopterinae in North America north Of Mexico "The more than 500 species of this subfamily are largely restricted to moist, tropical habitats. Only 2 of the 11 North American species occur inland from the southeastern coastal plain and 7 occur no farther north than peninsular Florida. There are no western species.
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Identification: Medium to robust, brown or gray crickets. Each upper margin of hindtibia armed with row of spines with small teeth between. Head roughly spherical; mouthparts directed down; three ocelli. Second segment of tarsi bilobed. First and second segments of fore and middle tarsi and second segment of hind tarsus with fleshy pad beneath. Length 9-35 mm.
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Remarks: Crickets of this subfamily eat leaves, flowers, and fruits of living plants, occasionally damaging species of value to man. They deposit their eggs in pith, bark, or soft wood of plant stems.
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Males have dorsal glands on the metathorax. In tree crickets (Oecanthinae) mating females feed at similar glands. No such feeding has been reported in larger bush crickets, but their mating behavior is poorly known. What is known might be described as quirky. For example, in the restless bush cricket (Hapithus agitator), the female sometimes eats the male's forewings during mating. In Orocharis, the female immediately removes the first spermatophore and eats it as she receives the second, which she then removes and eats as she receives the third, etc. This may continue for more than three hours, with the female receiving up to 20 spermatophores.
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Loss of calling is frequent in this subfamily. Thirteen of the 27 New World genera have no stridulatory apparatus. Two of three U.S. genera have the apparatus, but one of these (Hapithus) has a noncalling species (brevipennis) and a species with noncalling populations (agitator). Being large and exposed (on foliage) may increase the dangers of calling relative to its benefits.
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Because their eggs are laid in the tissues of living plants, bush crickets from other countries may stow away (as eggs) on imported nursery plants where they are difficult to kill without damaging the plant. Two species that probably arrived in this way are Hapithus vagus, from Jamaica, which became temporarily established in greenhouses at Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1900-1905 (Morse 1916); and Xenogryllus sp. (from Taiwan?), well established in the grove area north of Homestead, Florida. A third species, Chremon repitinus, from Haiti, is known in North America from a single female collected 12 Sep 1946 at Glen St. Mary, Florida, and is unlikely to have become established.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/s671a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref2 Pseudophyllinae text Pseudophyllinae http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Subfamily Pseudophyllinae in North America north of Mexico "
True katydids are large, diverse, and arboreal. About 1000 species are known worldwide, and the subfamily is especially well represented in the New World tropics. The United States have but four species. Although similar, they are placed in three genera.
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Identification: Length 33-50 mm. Pronotum with two transverse grooves. Forewings broadly convex, forming two shallow cups that together enclose a volume at least a third larger than the abdomen. Antennae longer and stiffer than in other katydids; antennal sockets with thick, raised rims mesally and ventrally.
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Life cycle: One generation per year with the winter spent as eggs that the female thrusts into crevices of bark or into soft or fibrous plant tissue.
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Remarks: Most true katydids occur mainly in the crowns of mature trees. Their songs, made at night, are loud and raucous, and their numbers are often great. In many areas they are both the katydids most frequently heard and the ones least frequently seen. True katydids feed on the foliage of the trees they inhabit.
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True katydids have no stage that is adapted to long range dispersal. Their only flight is when, upon being jostled, they leap from their perch and flutter downward. If they reach the ground, they walk to and climb a nearby tree trunk.
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The peculiarly cupped wings may have useful acoustic properties, and they undoubtedly make the insect appear more formidable than it is. When either the male or female is badgered, it squawks loudly and raises its forewings, putting a large volume of air--enclosed by tough forewings--between the katydid's vulnerable abdomen and its potential predator. The palatability of true katydids is uncertain. A Mexican species occurs in large numbers and calls during the day--and yet birds do not control its outbreaks.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/s131a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Copiphorinae text Copiphorinae http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Subfamily Copiphorinae in North America north of Mexico "
Coneheaded katydids are medium-to-large (24-74 mm), grasshopper-like insects with oversized jaws. They are the only katydids that have the head produced into a pointed or rounded cone that projects beyond the basal antennal segments. Most species have long, narrow forewings and, with the aid of the concealed hindwings, are strong fliers; a few species have abbreviated forewings and are flightless. Four genera and 22 species occur in America north of Mexico. All occur in the eastern United States and only 3 species have been found west of Texas.
\n\n
Brown/green color dimorphism
\n\n
All U.S. coneheads occur in two color phases: brown and green. Except for Pyrgocorypha uncinata, in which no green males are known, both males and females are dimorphic. In two other species (Neoconocephalus triops and Bucrates malivolans) the green phase is much rarer among males than females. In most species the proportions of the two phases are similar for the two sexes, but the proportions vary widely among species and among series of the same species collected at different places and at different times. No one has carefully studied the occurrence of brown and green phases in any species of conehead. Such a study would require collection or observation of large numbers of individuals at different places and times by methods that were not biased by the color of the individuals that might be collected or observed.
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Little is known of the adaptive significance or the genetic and environmental determinants of the color phases. The adaptive significance is most likely related to protection from diurnal, visually hunting predators, such as many species of birds. Experiments have shown that when such a predator has fed upon prey of one color, it is less likely to capture another individual of the same species if that individual is of a different color. The merits of a conehead being brown or green thus depend not only on the color of the individual's surroundings, which are generally brown and green, but also upon the color of its neighbors and the previous experiences of its visually hunting predators. Anyone who searches for coneheads visually will soon confirm that it is difficult to look for brown and green individuals simultaneously, that the color sought is influenced by the color of previous captures, and that individuals of the other color are less likely to be detected.
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Individuals sometimes change color during their development. For instance, all early juveniles of Neoconocephalus and Belocephalus are green, a few become brown during molts to late juvenile instars, and the majority of those that become brown adults change during the final molt. Apparently no one has recorded a conehead molting from brown to green.
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J.J. Whitesell (1974) showed that the color of male Neoconocephalus triops is influenced by photoperiod. Green nymphs exposed to 11-hour photoperiods molted to brown adults whereas those exposed to 15-hour photoperiods produced both green and brown adults. Under natural conditions this results in winter males being brown and summer males being dimorphic.
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Oviposition
\n\n
The ovipositors of coneheads are slender, nearly straight, and bear no teeth. Bucrates malivolans, with a blade 35-45 mm long, has the most spectacular egg-laying tool of any U.S. katydid. It and other species that have been seen ovipositing insert their eggs between the stems and sheaths of root leaves of cattails or grasses. Whitesell (1969) reported that Neoconocephalus retusus females chew through grass sheathes about 2 cm above ground level and push the ovipositor down into the sheath through the opening. The ovipositors of Belocephalus species are stouter than those of other genera, but no one has observed their use.
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Remarks
\n\n
Except among short-winged coneheads (Belocephalus), female coneheads are generally much larger than males. In a few species the smallest female known exceeds the largest male. The significance of such discrepant sizes is unexplained.
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Coneheads are often easy to find at night by going to calls of males and by inspecting seed heads of grasses for feeding females. Some species fly to lights. Finding coneheads in the daytime is difficult. In at least two genera (Neoconocephalus and Pyrgocorypha) adults crawl head down in bunches of grass until only their wings and extended hindlegs are visible. In this posture the insect resembles just another green or brown grass blade.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/s160a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref4;Ref3 Tettigoniinae text Tettigoniinae http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Subfamily Tettigoniinae in North America north of Mexico "
There is no agreement on how many subfamilies of katydids should be recogonized and what they should be called. Until recently most of the North American species of Tettigoniinae were placed in Decticinae, a subfamily that is no longer recognized and whose species are now entirely within the subfamily Tettigoniinae (Otte 1997). Of the 123 species of North American Tettigoniinae, 120 were formerly in Decticinae. The three remaining species had originally been placed in the Decticinae, but Hubbellia marginifera was later moved to Tettigoniinae and two species of Neobarrettia were moved to Listroscelinae (=Listroscelidinae).
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/s104a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref5 Prophalangopsidae text Prophalangopsidae http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Family Prophalangopsidae (hump-winged grigs) in North America north of Mexico "
In prophalangopsids the antennal sockets are about midway between the top of the head and the epistomal suture. The hind femur is short, extending no more than 3 mm beyond the end of the abdomen. The hind tibiae are armed dorsally with 8 or fewer spines in each of two rows. The forewings of the male cover half or more of abdomen; those of the female are tiny. Length 17-30 mm.
\n\n
Identification of species
\n
The three North American species are northwestern in distribution and belong to the genus Cyphoderris. The male subgenital plates of C. monstros and strepitans (great and sagebrush grigs) have a prominent, ventrally directed process lacking in C. buckelli (Buckell's grig). In C. monstrosa the process is shaped like the nail-pulling claw of a hammer; in C. strepitans it is simple and never terminally cleft. Cyphoderris buckelli and C. monstrosa, the two species that overlap in their geographical distributions, can be distinguished by the pulse rates in their calling songs. At every temperature, C. monstrosa has the higher pulse rate.
Remarks
\n\n
Humped-winged grigs are found in coniferous forests; C. strepitans also occurs in high altitude sagebrush. Daylight hours are spent in burrows and individuals are sometimes collected by turning stones. At night, males produce a succession of short musical trills at wing-stroke rates of 50-75 (at 25 C) and a carrier frequency of about 13 kHz. The songs of C. strepitans and C. buckelli are indistinguishable, but the geographical ranges of the two species do not overlap. The right and left forewings of males have equally developed files and scrapers. Either the left or right wing may be uppermost at rest and the two positions occur at approximately equal frequencies (Spooner 1973). The extent to which individual males switch between using the left and right files has not been established. The firmest published evidence of ""switch-wing stridulation"" is the song of a male C. monstrosa while courting a female (Morris & Gwynne 1978). In this song two pulse types were alternated without break. During mating, the female feeds on the fleshy hind wings of the male (Morris et al. 1989).
\n\n
The Prophalangopsidae include only three extant genera: the North American genus Cyphoderris and two Asian genera that are known from fewer than ten specimens from northern India, Tibet, Afghanistan, and extreme eastern USSR. On the other hand, there are many fossil genera of Prophalangopsidae and the related family Haglidae. F.E. Zeuner (1939) recognized 12 fossil genera older than 135 million years and occurring in England, Germany, Turkestan, and South America.
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The term grig is a little-used English word for all jumping orthopterans. It is used here (instead of katydid) to emphasize that the split between the Prophalangopsidae and their closest living relatives, the Tettigoniidae, occurred more than 230 million years ago in Permian times (Sharov 1971).
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/s337a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref7;Ref8;Ref10;Ref6;Ref9 Meconematinae text Meconematinae http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Subfamily Meconematinae in North America north of Mexico "
This subfamily is represented in the United States by a single species, Meconema thalassinum, introduced from Europe. About 200 species occur worldwide, including three that are known to make wholly ultrasonic songs--that is, the songs can only be heard by human ears with the help of an ultrasonic detector.
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The U.S. species has no male stridulatory apparatus of the usual kind. There are, however, minute teeth on the forewings that may substitute in a quiet way. In addition it has another method of calling, as indicated by its common name, drumming katydid.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/s103a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Gryllus text Gryllus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#Biology Genus Gryllus in North America north of Mexico "
Species of the genus Gryllus (field crickets) are the most-studied of North American singing insects. They are large, easy to rear and handle, and diverse in their acoustic behavior, ecology, and life cycles. Their early taxonomic history is instructive. Many species were described in the 1800s, but when Rehn and Hebard (1915) intensively analyzed 1,500 pinned Western Hemisphere specimens, they concluded that all native American Gryllus belonged to a single ""exceedingly plastic"" species, Gryllus assimilis. This conclusion held for more than 30 years, until B. B. Fulton (1952) studied, in the field and in captivity, living Gryllus in North Carolina. He showed there were four reproductively isolated populations that differed in their calling songs, habitats, and seasonal life cycles. Because he found no defining morphological differences, Fulton did not give scientific names to the species he had discovered. R. D. Alexander (1957) extended Fulton's studies of Gryllus to the Midwest, found a fifth species, and showed that most species pairs were separable by morphological characters, at least in one sex. He assigned scientific names, thus confronting museum curators with the fact that their trays of Gryllus assimilis probably contained mixtures of species none of which was likely to be G. assimilis. More importantly, differentiating and naming species of North American Gryllus made them inviting subjects for studies of evolution, behavior, and physiology.
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Since 1957, six more Gryllus species have been recognized in the eastern United States and 5 additional ones have been found in the West. David Weissman is currently working on a revision of Gryllus from the western and central states that will probably more than double the number of recognized species.
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Studies of calling songs and life histories are still the predominant means of recognizing new species of Gryllus. Once a new species is recognized, morphological differences may be easy or difficult to find.
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Seasonal life cycles
\n\n
Species of Gryllus from the same geographic locality may have very different seasonal life histories. In fact, the two most abundant field crickets in the Northeast are separable chiefly by their life histories. Gryllus veletis and G. pennsylvanicus (spring and fall field crickets) do not differ in song or habitat and differ morphologically only in the average length of the ovipositor relative to the body length. However, G. veletis overwinters as mid-sized juveniles and matures in spring, whereas G. pennsylvanicus overwinters as eggs and matures in fall. The two species co-occur as adults, in very small numbers, only briefly in midsummer. Thus, except for the occasional specimen collected during the period of overlap, the date of collection is sufficient to distinguish adults of the two species.
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Gryllus veletis and G. pennsylvanicus, like many other Gryllus, have a single annual generation. Some species have two discrete generations per year (e.g., G. rubens) and others have generations that overlap (e.g. G. assimilis). Gryllus firmus in Gainesville, Florida, has remarkably varied responses to seasons. It overwinters in all stages except small juveniles and the eggs of a single female may hatch over a five-month period, with the resulting juveniles maturing over a nine month period!
Phylogeny
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The evolutionary branching sequence (phylogeny) that produced the species of North American field crickets is important to those wishing to understand the evolution of the differences among the species. For example, the similarity of G. pennsylvanicus and G. veletis, except in their seasonal life cycles, led to the assumption that the two were sister species and to a theory of how the ancestral species might have produced the two species sympatrically by allochronic speciation (Alexander and Bigelow 1960). Subsequently, studies of chromosomes, allozymes, and mitochondrial DNA indicated that the split between egg and juvenile-overwintering species occurred early in the phylogeny of North American Gryllus and that G. pennsylvanicus and G. veletis were on different branches of the Gryllus family tree.
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Huang et al. (2000) reconstructed the phylogeny of ten species of North American Gryllus based on the DNA sequences of two mitochondrial genes. Trios of closely related species were firmus-ovisopis-pennsylvanicus, texensis-rubens-lineaticeps, and fultoni-integer-veletis. Gryllus assimilis was not closely related to any of the other species, but it may form a monophyletic group with fultoni-integer-veletis.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/g464a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref13;Ref14;Ref12;Ref15;Ref11 Anurogryllus text Anurogryllus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Genus Anurogryllus (short-tailed crickets) in North America north of Mexico "
Short-tailed crickets are light-brown, burrowing crickets that owe their common and scientific names to their vestigial ovipositors (an-uro-gryllus, in English, is no-tail-cricket). Short-tailed crickets excavate burrows by carrying dirt to the surface in their mandibles. The completed burrow has one or more living chambers and a tunnel for defecation. Except for dispersing, foraging, and mate-finding, short-tailed crickets spend their entire lives underground in their burrows.
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Females use their vestigial ovipositors to lay eggs in a pile on the floor of a burrow chamber. They may mouth and move the eggs about but do not eat them. When the eggs hatch, the juveniles are fed by their mother for about a month. They then leave their mother's burrow, disperse a few meters, and dig burrows of their own.
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Except for a mother and her young, and, briefly, for some matings, short-tailed crickets live alone. Unless the occupant is out or preparing to go out, the burrow entrance is kept plugged with dirt or plant material.
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Some taxonomists place Anurogryllus and other crickets that are similarly adapted for living in burrows in a subfamily of their own, the Brachytrupinae (e.g., Otte 1994). Whether they are considered to be one subfamily or two, crickets that are placed in Gryllinae and Brachytrupinae apparently form a monophyletic group (Gwynne 1995).
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Anurogryllus arboreus is the only U.S. species of short-tailed cricket, except on the Florida Keys where Anurogryllus celerinictus occurs as well. The reproductive behavior of short-tailed crickets has been studied extensively.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/g491a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref16;Ref17;Ref18 Gryllotalpa text Gryllotalpa http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Genus Gryllotalpa (seven-spurred mole crickets) in North America north of Mexico "
Four blade-like fingers on each foretibia; auditory tympanum covered. Forefemur with blade-like lobe. Apex of hindtibia armed with 7 spurs, 4 on inside and 3 on outside. Hindtibia usually armed along upper inner margin with three or four long spines. Length 26-50 mm.\n\n
Species
\n\nThree species of this genus occur north of Mexico. Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa is an immigrant from Europe, established in New Jersey; G. major is native to North America's tall grass prairies and is now restricted to their remnants; and G. cultriger is a barely known western species.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/g361a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Scapteriscus text Scapteriscus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#Biology Genus Scapteriscus (two-clawed mole crickets) in North America north of Mexico "
Members of this genus have two blade-like claws (dactyls) on each foretibia and the auditory tympanum is exposed. The foretrochanter is armed with an elongate blade. The hindtibia has 3-6 long spines along its upper inner margin.
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Our three species in this genus are native to South America and first became established in North America more than 90 years ago, apparently from stowaways in ships' ballast. Maps of when and where they were introduced and how they spread are on the species pages and in Walker & Nickle (1981).
Life cycles
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Two-clawed mole crickets require a year or less for a generation. In the colder parts of their ranges they overwinter both as adults and large nymphs. Eggs are laid in clutches of 25 to 60 in small ovoid chambers (4 x 3 cm) 9 to 30 cm below the surface.
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Economic importance
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Members of this genus are the most damaging crickets in the New World. In the southeastern United States tawny mole crickets (S. vicinus) are major pests of established lawns and pastures, causing annual losses of $10's of millions. Short-winged mole crickets (S. abbreviatus) do the same type of damage but are much more restricted geographically. Southern mole crickets (S. borellii) feed largely on animal matter and avoid established turf; however, they damage seedlings in newly planted lawns, gardens, and fields.
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Biological control
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Because our pest mole crickets were introduced and occurred in much greater numbers here than in their homeland, University of Florida researchers concluded that they might be controlled by classical biological control--that is, by introducing natural enemies that had been left behind when they immigrated from South America. Of the enemies that proved promising because of their host specificity, three have been successfully introduced, and have substantially reduced Scapteriscus populations. Steinernema scapterisci is a nematode that kills mole crickets by introducing lethal microbes (Parkman et al 1993). Ormia depleta is a tachinid fly that homes on the calling songs of male mole crickets and deposits living larvae that enter and consume mole crickets (Frank et al 1996). Larra bicolor is a sphecid wasp that chases a mole cricket from its burrow, subdues it with a sting and glues an egg at the base of a middle leg. The mole cricket recovers but the egg becomes a larva that feeds on the cricket while attached externally and eventually kills its host and consumes the remains (Walker 1984).
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Flights
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Large numbers of tawny and southern mole crickets fly during the early evening of warm days each spring. One result of such flights is that new lawns and fields are infested and pesticide-treated ones are re-infested. Another result is that females find mates by homing to the appropriate calling song and landing near the entrance to the caller's burrow.
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Some important features of the flights are not adequately understood. Males and mated females, as well as virgin females, often terminate their flights by homing to conspecific calling song, and the same individual may fly and home repeatedly over a period of several weeks. Available evidence suggests that many flights terminate near their starting points and that in heavily infested fields a minority of the males call each evening. Pair formation and sexual competition in these species deserve further study. Most flights probably involve more than colonizing new or better fields or finding a willing source of conspecific sperm. T.G. Forrest (1983) has shown that calling males vary greatly in their attractiveness to females. On an evening when one calling male attracts no female, another, calling nearby, may attract more than 20! (He cannot service so many--Forrest prevented them from reaching the male.) Male attractiveness correlates with loudness of the calling song. Loudness correlates with both male size and soil moisture, which in turn are indicative of male quality and habitat quality. Scientists have exploited the attractiveness of loud calls by broadcasting simulated mole cricket sounds more than 30 times as powerful as the loudest male and have collected as many as 8000 mole crickets at a single sound source in a single evening.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/g341a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref23;Ref21;Ref20;Ref19;Ref22 Miogryllus text Miogryllus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Genus Miogryllus in North America north of Mexico "
At least two species of this genus occur in North America: an eastern species, here called Miogryllus saussurei, and a southwestern species, Miogryllus lineatus.
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North American Miogryllus are highly variable and inadequately studied. The genus was last revised by Hebard in 1915, the same year that he and Rehn (R & H 1915) concluded that all New World Gryllus belonged to a single, ""exceedingly plastic"" species. In his revision, Hebard declared that Miogryllus verticalis, a species described by Serville in 1839 from French Guiana, was distributed from Argentina to New Jersey. If Hebard was correct, the populations here called M. saussurei should be called M. verticalis instead, because the latter name is older. However, it seems likely that Hebard was not correct, because few if any New World crickets have such a wide distribution. The example that Hebard gave was Neocurtilla hexadactyla, but as discussed under that species, it may be native only to North America. The other example that Hebard might have cited (the sole New World Gryllus species he recognized) has since proved to be a complex of many species. Furthermore, Hebard did not examine the holotype of M. verticalis, but noted that it was long-winged. No long-winged individuals are known for what is here called M. saussurei. Of the 107 adult specimens that Hebard placed in M. verticalis, only three were macropterous: two females from Vera Cruz, Mexico, and a male from Para, Brazil.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/g520a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref24;Ref11 Antillicharis text Antillicharis http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Genus Antillicharis in North America north of Mexico "
Species in this genus were formerly placed in the genus Orocharis. In 2009, Otte & Perez-Gelabert (2009, p. 221) established Antillicharis and four other new genera to accommodate the many species in their ""Orocharis Group"" of the tribe Hapithini. North American crickets that they assigned to Antillicharis may be distinguished from those that they left in Orocharis by an ocellar diameter greater than the distance between the lateral and medial ocelli.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/g680a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref25 Hapithus text Hapithus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Genus Hapithus in North America north of Mexico "
Brown, sedentary crickets with hindwings shorter than forewings; foretibia with anterior tympanum but without posterior one. Length 9-19 mm.
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Identification of species
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The three North American species of Hapithus can be separated by comparing the length of the forewings with the length of the pronotum (shortest in H. brevipennis and longest in H.agitator, with H. melodius intermediate).
Life cycles
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Except for the restless bush cricket (H. agitator) in south Florida, U.S. species have one generation each year; eggs are the overwintering stage.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/g671a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Orocharis text Orocharis http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Genus Orocharis in North America north of Mexico "
These are arboreal crickets that occur only in the New World. Their songs are loud and distinctive, but they are usually difficult to collect. Most tropical species have yet to be distinguished and named. Four of the six U.S. species were not recognized until 1969.
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Hindwings longer than forewings; foretibia with anterior and posterior tympana. Anterior tympanum fully exposed; posterior tympanum smaller and sometimes scarely evident. Male forewings not much wider near tips; greatest width of right forewing no more than 20% greater than width at file. Ovipositor >10 mm; shaft cylindrical. Length 15-22 mm.
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Identification of species
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The species are most easily identified by their songs. Morphologically the most useful features are those of the stridulatory file and the dorsal view of the head.
Color dimorphism
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Three of the U.S. species are dimorphic in color. In jumping (O. saltator), false jumping (O. luteolira), and keys (O. diplastes) bush crickets some individuals are conspicuously darker than others and intermediates are rare or lacking. The frequencies of dark individuals in the three species are approximately 50, 10, and 80% respectively.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/g681a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Oecanthus text Oecanthus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#Biology Genus Oecanthus in North America north of Mexico "
For a beautifully illustrated, informative website devoted mostly to Oecanthus, go to http://www.oecanthinae.com/. This site, created by Nancy Collins (an energetic oecanthine enthusiast), is organized into more than 20 sections and has impressive still photos and videos.
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North American species of Oecanthus fall into four groups based on numerous characters, including markings and swellings on the first and second antennal segments and male-limited characters such as calling songs, proportions of the dorsal field of the forewings, and features of the metanotal glands. These metanotal glands, sometimes termed ""honey pots,"" are exposed during calling and courtship. After the female mounts the male to receive a spermatophore, she spends 5-15 minutes feeding on the secretions of these glands.
Identification of species
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First determine the species group by using the pictorial key to species groups of North American Oecanthus on SINA. From there you will be linked to the appropriate illustrated text.
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Three species belonging to this group occur within the area covered by SINA. Oecanthus fultoni, the snowy tree cricket, occurs widely, but not in the Southeast and far-northern areas. Oecanthus rileyi, Riley's tree cricket, is known only from Arizona and the states bordering the Pacific. Differences in the markings on the first two antennal segments easily separate these two species in nearly all cases. The third species is known in the U.S. only from the lower Rio Grande valley and has only recently been formally described.
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The three species belonging to this group are easily identified on the basis of the markings on the first two antennal segments. Oecanthus niveus (narrow-winged tree cricket) has a J-shaped mark on the first antennal segment; O. exclamationis (Davis's tree cricket) has a broad straight mark on the first antennal segment, which becomes part of an exclamation mark when viewed with the the mark on the second segment; and O. leptogrammis (thin-lined tree cricket) has narrow straight lines on the first and second antennal segments.
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Most members of this group occur predominantly in herbaceous vegetation and hence are more readily collected than tree-inhabiting tree crickets. However, two species inhabit coniferous trees and their color, as well as their habitats, set them apart (see below). The two conifer-inhabiting species, O. pini (pine tree cricket) and O. laricis (tamarack tree cricket), can be recognized by their brown heads and thorax and green or green-tinged wings, which make them difficult to spot when they rest with their heads next to the boughs with their rears amidst the needles. The two species are known almost exclusively from pines and tamarack, respectively, but O. pini has been collected on balsam fir in southeastern New York and O. laricis on hemlock in northeastern Ohio.
The herb-inhabiting species of the nigricornis group are sometimes difficult to identify and they exhibit interesting and poorly understood variations in the plants they inhabit. In the case of O. nigricornis (black-horned tree cricket) and O. forbesi (Forbes's tree cricket), the only identifying feature is the (temperature-dependant) pulse rate of the male calling song. This makes females and dead males identifiable only by their association with males of known song type--and sometimes, at least in central Ohio, the two species occur together. That said, with the exception of nigricornis vs. forbesi, the markings on the first two antennal segments provide a good means of identifying most specimens of the herb-inhabiting species of the nigricornis group.
It is important to understand that when these herb-inhabiting species are collected by sweeping a net through the vegetation on which they occur, two or even three species may be among the catch. When the two are O. quadripunctatus (four-spotted tree cricket) and O. celerinictus, as in the Southeast, or O. quadripunctatus and O. argentinus (prairie tree cricket), as in the Midwest, there is little to suggest that more than one species is present until the antennal marks are examined. On the other hand, when the two are quadripunctatus and nigricornis, as in the Northeast, the differing overall coloration of the two separates the two without reference to the antennal markings. In this regard, it must be noted that the overall coloration of nigricornis and forbes is variable and can be intermediate between the color mode of most of our tree crickets and the typically darker color of nigricornis and forbesi.
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It should also be noted that the herb-inhabiting species of the nigricornis group are sometimes found on woody plants. Males may call from the lower branches of small trees in open areas and in some cases both sexes seem at home on woody plants such as willow and sumac.
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Under construction on SINA.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/g576a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Belocephalus text Belocephalus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#Biology Genus Belocephalus (short-winged coneheads) "
In Belocephalus, the wings of males cover less than half of the abdomen; wings of females are tiny and do not overlap. There is a prominent gap between the cone and face, and the tip of the cone is straight-pointed, bent-pointed, or rounded. Length 24-50 mm.
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Species groups and species
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The populations of short-winged coneheads (Belocephalus) fall readily into two species groups: greater short-winged coneheads, represented by sabalis, davisi, and sleighti, and lesser short-winged coneheads, represented by subapterus and micanopy. No locality has more than two populations of Belocephalus, and, wherever two occur, one belongs to each group. Differences between the two groups are summarized here on SINA. The cones of short-winged coneheads of both groups vary greatly geographically. In south Florida and along Florida's east coast, absolute size is sufficient to place adult Belocephalus in one species group or the other. Elsewhere, members of the two groups are similar enough in size to require separation by other means.
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Dividing each species group into component species is difficult. Because two distinguishable populations of the same group never occur together, each species group could be interpreted as constituting a single geographically varying species. However, for these reasons SINA recognizes five species rather than two: Belocephalus subapterous and B. micanopy have distinctively different calling songs; B. sleighti is different in its seasonal life history from B. sabalis; and B. davisi and B. sabalis fail, for unknown reasons, to occupy the area that separates them. None of the five species recognized is known to be genetically continuous with any other (i.e., no areas of hybridization are known). Except for B. davisi and B. sabalis, the features that separate species belonging to the same group seem likely to maintain genetic isolation even if populations of two such species should eventually come in contact.
Seasonal life cycles
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Belocephalus sleighti has two generations per year. All other species have one, with peak adult numbers occurring in late summer or fall. With the exception of B. davisi, singing continues throughout the winter into the following spring. Where the eggs are laid and how soon they hatch are unknown.
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Remarks
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Short-winged coneheads cannot fly nor do they have other means of long-range dispersal. Morphological differences that developed when once continuous populations were fragmented by Pleistocene changes in sea level may still remain even though populations are again continuous. For example, over a distance of about ten miles just north of Frostproof, Florida, the subgenital plates of male B. subapterus change from the usual type to the ""hebardi"" type (see drawings on B. subapterus page). Specimens with intermediate-type plates occur here only in a narrow zone. Elsewhere the transition between the two types of plates has not been studied. (See the common true katydid for a more extensively studied similar case.)
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Short-winged coneheads are frequently associated with small palms, especially the saw and cabbage palmettos, the two most abundant native palms of southeastern U.S. They conceal themselves between fronds and in the pleats of fronds. In some areas, all calling males occupy palms. Short-winged coneheads have been seen eating palm fronds--tough material, but the jaws of these katydids appear suited to such a diet. Since short-winged coneheads are sometimes abundant in areas with no palms, they must not depend entirely on palms for either food or shelter. Juvenile and adult B. subapterus, and perhaps those of other species, feed on grass heads in the manner of common coneheads (Neoconocephalus).
\n\nBelocephalus is the only genus of coneheads restricted to the United States. Their closest relatives may be Pyrgocorypha spp. " http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/g170a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Amblycorypha text Amblycorypha http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Genus Amblycorypha in North America north of Mexico "
North American Amblycorypha fall into three species groups within which the species are sometimes difficult to differentiate. The rotundifolia group (round-winged katydids) was recently revised (Walker et al. 2003) and consists of rotundifolia, alexanderi, bartrami, and parvipennis. Taxonomic problems uncovered during this revision, including ""nr. bartrami,"" are currently being studied by T. G. Forrest and J. D. Spooner. The uhleri group (virtuoso katydids), recently revised by T. J. Walker (2004), consists of uhleri, arenicola, cajuni, longinicta, and rivograndis. Finally, the oblongifolia group (oblong-winged katydids) consists of oblongifolia, carinata, floridana, huasteca, and insolita.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/g001a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref26;Ref27 Paracyrtophyllus text Paracyrtophyllus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Genus Paracyrtophyllus in North America north of Mexico "
The two species in this genus occur in Texas woodlands that are largely or completely isolated from other woodlands (and from other true katydids) by prairie or desert.
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Length 33-45 mm. The two species are slightly smaller than other North American true katydids and the rear of the pronotum is more drastically expanded.
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Identification of species
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Paracyrtophyllus excelsus is known only from the Chisos Mountains and P. robustus occurs only in central Texas. By referring to their species pages, you can learn how to distinguish the two species by their morphology and by their songs.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/g151a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Metrioptera text Metrioptera http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Genus Metrioptera in North America north of Mexico "
The only native North American species in this genus is the bog katydid, Metrioptera sphagnorum, the only katydid species know only from Canada. Roesel's katydid, Metrioptera roeselii, was accidentally introduced to Montreal in the early 1950's and has since spread to the northeastern United States and to Illinois.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/g301a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Neobarrettia text Neobarrettia http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Genus Neobarrettia in North America north of Mexico "
Members of this genus, formerly know as Rehnia, are formidable predators. The two North America species live in arid areas of the Southwest.
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Forewings well developed but shorter than abdomen. Forelegs adapted to seizing prey as evidenced by their being longer than the middle legs and having prominent spines along both lower edges of the femur and tibia. Length 25-52 mm.
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Identification of species
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The greater arid-land katydid (N. spinosa) is of course larger than the lesser one (N. victoriae): length 34-45 vs. 25-32 mm for males and 44-52 vs 31-37 mm for females. The front edge of the pronotum of N. spinosa is black, whereas that of N. victoria is green.
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Remarks
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These katydids do not necessarily retreat when molested and will assume a threating pose with bright wings flared, mandibles opened wide, and spiny forelegs raised high. If given the opportunity, they may attack and draw blood--not your average katydid!
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References: Cohn 1957, 1965.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/g331a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref28;Ref29 Gryllotalpa cultriger text Gryllotalpa cultriger http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Western Mole Cricket (Gryllotalpa cultriger) "
Identification: The only mole cricket with four tibial claws known from the West. Length 26-31 mm, which is shorter than G. major and G. gryllotalpa, which are 35-50 mm.
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Song: Not known.
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Remarks: Only three specimens have been reported from the United States: one each from El Paso, Texas; ""California""; and Lone Mt. Cemetery, San Francisco. All were collected prior to 1900. At least two Mexican specimens are known, one being from Fuerte, Sinaloa.
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More information: family Gryllotalpidae, genus Gryllotalpa
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Reference: Hebard 1935.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/362a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref30 Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa text Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology European Mole Cricket (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa) "
Identification: This is the only species of Gryllotalpa known from eastern United States. Length, 36-46 mm.
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Habitat: Moist, loose soils.
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Season: Adults are present at all times of year. Calling and mating probably occur in May and June. In Spain, this species has a two-year life cycle, spending the first winter as a juvenile and the next as an adult. Eggs are laid in spring.
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Song at 25°C: Low-pitched trill at 60 p/s issuing from several irregular openings in the ground (Bennet-Clark, France).
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Similar species: Neocurtilla hexadactyla is less than 30 mm; hind tibia unarmed except at apex.
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Remarks: This cricket is widespread in Europe and was evidently imported into the United States in shipments of ornamental plants. It reached pest proportions at a nursery in Rutherford, N.J., in 1915–1918, and was collected in nearby Wallington as recently as 1960. Other U. S. records are from Nantucket, Mass., Montgomery, N.Y., and Belle Glade, Fla., and may not represent established populations.
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More information: family Gryllotalpidae, genus Gryllotalpa
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Reference: Weiss 1915, Weiss & Dickerson 1918.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/363a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref31; Ref32 Neocurtilla hexadactyla text Neocurtilla hexadactyla http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Northern Mole Cricket (Neocurtilla hexadactyla) "
Identification: Basal projection of fore femur lobe-like; hind tibia with eight spines at apex, four on inside and four on outside. Length 19-33 mm.
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Habitat: Margins of lakes and streams; low, mucky ground.
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Season: Adults occur nearly year-round. Song period July-Sept. in southern Michigan; July-Nov. at Raleigh, N. Car.; and Jan.-Aug. at Gainesville, Fla. In central Florida, northern mole crickets have a one year life cycle and overwinter as adults. In North and South Carolina the life cycle is two years, with the first winter passed as mid juveniles and the second as adults. Farther north, for example, in Michigan, more than two years may be required, but no one has investigated.
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Song at 25°C: Rhythmic, low-pitched chirps from the ground at ca. 2-3 ch/s, 8-16 p/ch, 1.7 kHz, 58 p/s. No acoustical burrow is known. Calling occurs afternoons as well as evenings. Neighbors do not synchronize or alternate their chirps. The courtship song of the southern mole cricket is similar but higher in pitch (2.8 kHz) and chirp rate (3-4 ch/s).
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Similar species: Gryllotalpa major is 35-50 mm long and basal projection of femur are blade-like. Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa is 36-46 mm long and its hind tibiae are armed above with three or four long spines.
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Remarks: In the Carolinas this species may mate in the fall (when singing occurs) with the females storing the sperm until they lay eggs the following spring. In Florida, most singing is in the spring and probably immediately precedes egg-laying.
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Individuals from peninsular Florida average smaller than those from farther north. This difference may be indicative of a one-year life cycle in the south compared with a two- or three-year life cycle in the north.
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C.E. Smith studied a wasp (Larra analis) that hunts northern mole crickets by entering their burrows. Unless thwarted by the sticky slime ejected by the mole cricket, the wasp paralyzes the mole cricket with stings and attaches an egg to it. The mole cricket quickly recovers from the attack and resumes normal activity, but the egg becomes a larva that feeds on and eventually kills its host.
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Northern mole cricket males apparently call from closed burrows rather than from openings that direct the sound upward. Such calling is safer than calling at the bottom of an open horn and may be more effective in attracting flightless females, which must travel on the surface or through the burrow system to reach the calling male. In museum collections about half the females have long wings, but many of these are individuals that had flown to light, thereby biasing the sample in favor of long wings.
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This species occurs in South America, but may not be native there. Its abundance in temperate South America, as judged from light trap catches, is like our pest mole crickets rather than our populations of northern mole crickets. On the other hand, our pest mole crickets are much less abundant in their South American homeland than they are in their adopted home. This switch in roles may be due to the introduced mole crickets leaving specialized natural enemies behind. In keeping with this, Larra analis attacks northern mole crickets, but not our pest species, and does not occur in South America. [Our pest species are attacked by Larra bicolor, a South American species that has been introduced to North America as a biological control agent.]
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More information: family Gryllotalpidae
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References: Baumgartner 1910a, 1910b; Smith 1935; Hayslip 1943; Fulton 1951; DeWitt 1978; Castner & Nation 1986; Semlitsch 1986.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/351a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref33;Ref34;Ref35;Ref36.Ref37;Ref38;Ref39;Ref40 Scapteriscus abbreviatus text Scapteriscus abbreviatus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Short-winged Mole Cricket (Scapteriscus abbreviatus) "
Identification: Tibial dactyls slightly divergent, separated at base by space equal to at least half of basal width of a dactyl. Viewed from rear, sharp lower edge of trochantal blade extending less than half distance from trocantal tip to junction with femur. Pronotal pattern complex. Forewings shorter than pronotum; hindwings concealed by forewings. Length 22-29 mm.
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Habitat: Sandy soils, usually near the coast; beaches, lawns, fields, and groves.
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Season: All stages occur all year.
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Song: No calling song. Males produce weak, l-5 pulse chirps during courtship.
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Similar species: Scapteriscus borellii and S. vicinus have forewings longer than pronotum and hindwings longer than abdomen. Last stage juveniles of these two species have short wings, but hindwings are still longer than forewings.
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Remarks: This species, like the other two species of Scapteriscus, is native to South America and was inadvertently brought into southern ports about l900. Since it cannot fly, its subsequent spread has depended on human transport, probably in manure, sod, and nursery stock. This could account for its spotty distribution and its restriction to suburban and agricultural areas. For unknown reasons almost all records are coastal.
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More information: family Gryllotalpidae, genus Scapteriscus
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References: Castner & Nation 1986, see additional references on genus page on SINA..
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/343a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref35 Scapteriscus borellii text Scapteriscus borellii http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Southern Mole Cricket (Scapteriscus borellii) "
Identification: Tibial dactyls separated at base by space equal to at least half of basal width of a dactyl. Viewed from rear, sharp lower edge of trochantal blade extending one-half to two-thirds distance from trochantal tip to junction with femur. Forewings longer than pronotum; hindwings longer than abdomen. Length 25-32 mm.
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Habitat: Wet or moist, sandy or mucky, open areas including fields, lawns, and the margins of ponds and streams.
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Season: One generation per year except in south Florida, where there are two. Some individuals overwinter as adults, but most do so as large nymphs. Eggs are laid in spring. Most calling is Feb.-July, but because adults are long-lived, some calling occurs year-round. Flights are heaviest in April, May, and June except in south Florida, where a second generation sometimes produces a flight peak in July or August; N. Fla. seasonal data on SINA
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Song at 25°C: A low-pitched, ringing trill at 54 p/s that issues from a horn-shaped opening in the ground during the first 2 hours after sunset or, after heavy rains, later. The male's courtship song, sometimes produced for minutes from a closed burrow, resembles the calling song of the northern mole cricket but is higher pitched and has a slightly faster chirp rate.
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Similar species: Scapteriscus vicinus has the tibial dactyls nearly touching at base. Scapteriscus abbreviatus has the forewings shorter than pronotum and the hindwings concealed by the fore wings.
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Remarks: This species was long thought to be native to southeastern United States and went by the name Scapteriscus acletus. However, analysis of early records revealed that it first appeared in the United States in 1904, near the port of Brunswick, Georgia. Subsequently it became established at other ports—Charleston, South Carolina, 1915; Mobile, Alabama, 1919; Port Arthur, Texas, 1925—and spread from these sites to occupy most of the southeastern states (Walker & Nickle 1981). Once the source of the immigrants was identified, Nickle (1992) determined that the species had another name, Scapteriscus borellii. Because S. borellii was the older name it became the correct one to use.
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The S. borellii introduced at Brunswick and Mobile had a mottled pronotal pattern, whereas those at Charleston and Port Arthur had four light dots arranged in a trapezoid on the dark pronotal disk (see photograph above). The two patterns initially spread from the separate sites of introduction, but today the mottled pattern is only in the vicinity of Mobile. The recent establishment of S. borellii along the Colorado River and in turf near Yuma, Arizona, raises the possibility that is will spread to other sandy well-watered areas throughout the Southwest.
\n\nThe southern mole cricket is largely carnivorous and apparently does less damage to established grass than the tawny and short-winged mole-crickets, which are mostly herbivorous.\n\nMore information: family Gryllotalpidae, genus Scapteriscus\n\nReferences: Hayslip 1943, see additional references on genus page on SINA." http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/341a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref38 Scapteriscus vicinus text Scapteriscus vicinus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Tawny Mole Cricket (Scapteriscus vicinus) "
Identification: Tibial dactyls nearly touching at base, separated by less than half basal width of a dactyl. Viewed from rear, sharp lower edge of trochantal blade extending more than two-thirds distance from trochantal tip to junction with femur. Pronotal pattern complex. Forewings longer than pronotum; hindwings longer than abdomen. Length 24-33 mm.
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Habitat: Moist or well-drained, sandy soils in open areas—including fields, lawns, and roadsides.
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Season: One generation per year. Most individuals overwinter as adults, but some overwinter as large nymphs. Eggs are laid in spring. Most calling is Feb.-June, but because adults are long-lived, some calling occurs year-round. Flights occur Feb.-June, Sept.-Dec., but the heaviest flights are in March and April; N. Fla. seasonal data on SINA.
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Song at 25°C: A loud, nasal trill at 137 p/s issuing from a horn-shaped opening in the ground during the first 90 minutes after sunset.
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Similar species: Scapteriscus borellii and S. abbreviatus have the tibial dactyls well separated at base.
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Remarks: This destructive insect was first recorded in the United States at Brunswick, Georgia, in 1899. It is native to South America and was perhaps transported in ballast from Buenos Aires or Montevideo. Its spread westward along the Gulf coast is continuing and its ultimate distribution may include portions of Louisiana and Texas.
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Two similar species occur in Puerto Rico, where mole crickets were accidentally introduced and became important pests by l876. Scapteriscus vicinus was formerly believed to be one of the Puerto Rican species and was misleadingly called the ""Puerto Rican mole cricket"" or ""changa,"" the latter name being a vernacular Puerto Rican term for mole cricket.
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More information: family Gryllotalpidae, genus Scapteriscus
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References: Hayslip 1943, Castner & Nation 1986, see additional references on genus page on SINA.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/342a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref35;Ref38 Gryllus alogus text Gryllus alogus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://www.eol.org/voc/table_of_contents#Notes Damp-loving Field Cricket (Gryllus alogus) "
David Weissman is currently revising the species of Gryllus from the western and central United States. That study will describe the song, morphology, life cycle, and geographical and ecological distribution of G. alogus in relation to the many other western species.
\n\nMore information: subfamily Gryllinae, genus Gryllus" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/464a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Gryllus assimilis text Gryllus assimilis http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Jamaican Field Cricket (Gryllus assimilis) "
The song of this species is distinctive. Each chirp has six to ten pulses, with the initial ones being briefer and more rapidly delivered than the terminal ones. All pulses come too fast to be easily heard as separate sounds, and the chirp rate is unusually slow, about one chirp per second. Gryllus assimilis is also distinctive morphologically. It has short brownish pubescence on the pronotum, the areas around the compound eyes are light yellow-brown, and the lateral arms of the epicranial suture are easily seen. All individuals are long-winged (Walker and Sivinski 1986).
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From 1915 until 1957, the many species of North American Gryllus were generally classified as Gryllus assimilis or Acheta assimilis because until songs were used to distinguish species, taxonomists could not agree on what groups of Gryllus specimens deserved species status. The real G. assimilis was described from Jamaica and is known in the United States only from southern Florida and Brownsville, Texas.
\n\n
Note: Until 2009, southern California populations of a related species (Gryllus multipulsator) were considered to be Jamaican field crickets, but their calling songs are distinctive, with more pulses per chirp and a higher dominant frequency.
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Life cycle: No diapausing stage, which has facilitated continuous rearing for scientific purposes.
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More information: subfamily Gryllinae, genus Gryllus
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References: Bigelow 1958, Alexander & Walker 1962, Weissman, Walker & Gray 2009.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/483a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref41;Ref42;Ref43 Gryllus brevicaudus text Gryllus brevicaudus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Short-tailed Field Cricket (Gryllus brevicaudus) "
Identification: Gryllus brevicaudus has jet-black body and legs, hindwings shorter than forewings, and an ovipositor shorter to slightly longer than the hind femur. Tegmina have a yellow tinge on the lateral field near the base (Weissman et al. 1980).
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Song at 25°C: Weissman et al. (1980) described the song as having 3 to 6 pulses per chirp and averaging 150 chirps per minute at 25°C.
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More information: subfamily Gryllinae, genus Gryllus
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/465a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref44 Gryllus cayensis text Gryllus cayensis http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#Distribution Keys Wood Cricket (Gryllus cayensis) "
This species formerly occurred in the Florida Keys but now is apparently restricted to the pinelands of Everglades National Park.
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More information: subfamily Gryllinae, genus Gryllus
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Reference: Walker 2001.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/475a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref45 Gryllus firmus text Gryllus firmus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Sand Field Cricket (Gryllus firmus) "
In most of its range, Gryllus firmus is the only chirping, field-inhabiting Gryllus. In South Florida it overlaps with Gryllus assimilis. To the north its range overlaps with G. veletis and G. pennsylvanicus and it sometimes hybridizes with the latter species (Harrison and Bogdanowicz 1997).
\n\n
N. Fla. seasonal data on SINA.
\n\n
More information: subfamily Gryllinae, genus Gryllus
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References: See genus page on SINA.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/481a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref46 Gryllus fultoni text Gryllus fultoni http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Southern Wood Cricket (Gryllus fultoni) "
Gryllus fulton overwinters as a late juvenile and matures in spring. In most of its range there is a single generation. However, in north Florida some of the progeny of the spring adults mature in late summer and lay eggs that hatch in fall. It is uncertain whether juveniles from this partial second generation contribute to the following spring's cohort of adults. (Walker 1974, Fig. 1 and text).
\n\n
N. Fla. seasonal data on SINA.
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More information: subfamily Gryllinae, genus Gryllus
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References: Jang and Gerhardt 2005, 2006.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/484a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref48;Ref49;Ref47 Gryllus integer text Gryllus integer http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Western Stutter-trilling Cricket (Gryllus integer) "
David Weissman is currently revising the species of Gryllus from the western and central United States. That study will describe the song, morphology, life cycle, and geographical and ecological distribution of G. integer in relation to the many other western species.
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Song at 25°C: Song in some populations consists of sequences of 3-pulse units produced at a rate of ca. 17 units per sec. (see upper spectrogram). The effect is a ""stutter trill."" In other populations sequences of single pulses and of pairs are the rule.
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More information: subfamily Gryllinae, genus Gryllus
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References: Smith & Cade 1987; Cade & Tyshenko 1990; Hedrick & Weber 1998; Hedrick 1986, 1988, 2000.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/480a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref50.Ref51;Ref52;Ref53;Ref54;Ref55 Gryllus lineaticeps text Gryllus lineaticeps http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Variable Field Cricket (Gryllus lineaticeps) "
David Weissman is currently revising the species of Gryllus from the western and central United States. That study will describe the song, morphology, life cycle, and geographical and ecological distribution of G. lineaticeps in relation to the many other western species.
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Song at 25°C: According to Weissman et al. (1980), the song has 6 to 10 pulses per chirp, with the pulse rate uniform and high; the chirp rate averages 200 per minute.
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More information: subfamily Gryllinae, genus Gryllus
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References: Wagner 1996, Hoback & Wagner 1997, Wagner & Hoback 1999, Wagner & Reiser 2000.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/467a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref56;Ref57;Ref58;Ref59;Ref44; Gryllus multipulsator text Gryllus multipulsator http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Long-chirp Field Cricket (Gryllus multipulsator) "
In the field, this species is easily identified by its prolonged chirps. Morphologically it is characterized by a pubescent pronotum, a head narrower than the pronotum, and no individuals with hindwings shorter than the forewings. Gryllus assimilis, a closely related species known from south Florida and south-most Texas, is morphologically indistinguishable from G. multipulsator, but its calling song has briefer chirps (8-10 pulses vs. 12-16 for multipulsator). In both species the pulses become more widely spaced (i.e., are produced at a slower rate) as the chirp progresses.
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Life cycle: No diapausing stage, possibly making it easy to rear continuously for scientific or commercial purposes.
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More information: subfamily Gryllinae, genus Gryllus
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References: Weissman, Walker & Gray 2009.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/499a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref43 Gryllus ovisopis text Gryllus ovisopis http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Taciturn Wood Cricket (Gryllus ovisopis) "
This is a species of Gryllus that cannot be identified by its calling song--it has none! It is, however, the only large, black, fall-adult woods cricket with very short forewings. The ovipositor is more than 1.3 times the length of the hind femur and there are more than 45 teeth per mm of stridulatory file.
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Gryllus ovisopis has a single generation each year with adults maturing in near synchrony in mid September. Females are quickly mated and eggs are deposited that hatch the following spring. The courtship song of G. ovisopis is similar to that of other Gryllus, with short, sharp ""ticks"" separated by sequences of less intense pulses. The dominant frequencies of the ticks are about 14 kHz, and those of the less intense pulses are about 4 kHz. Unlike the aggressive songs of other Gryllus, which have most of their energy at about 4 kHz, those of G. ovisopis have most of the energy at about 14 kHz. (Walker 1974)
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N. Fla. seasonal data on SINA.
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More information: subfamily Gryllinae, genus Gryllus
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References: Walker 1974.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/476a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref60 Gryllus pennsylvanicus text Gryllus pennsylvanicus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Fall Field Cricket (Gryllus pennsylvanicus) "
Gryllus pennsylvanicus and G. veletis cannot be reliably distinguished by either song or external morphology (although in some localities the ovipositors of G. pennsylvanicus average substantially longer than those of G. veletis). However, G. veletis overwinters as mid-to-late instar juveniles, whereas G. pennsylvanicus overwinters in the egg stage. Both species have only one generation per year. Consequently, G. pennsylvanicus adults are most abundant in fall and G. veletis adults are most abundant in spring. In all localities where the species have been studied, a few adults of the two species occur together in midsummer.
\n\n
More information: subfamily Gryllinae, genus Gryllus
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References: See genus page on SINA.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/489a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Gryllus personatus text Gryllus personatus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Badlands Cricket (Gryllus personatus) "
David Weissman, who is currently revising the species of Gryllus from the western and central United States, suggested the name ""badlands cricket"" for G. personatus because it is fairly common in cracks in very clay-like soils, where no other Gryllus occurs. Weissman's revision will describe the song, morphology, life cycle, and geographical and ecological distribution of G. personatus in relation to the many other western species.
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More information: subfamily Gryllinae, genus Gryllus
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/468a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Gryllus rubens text Gryllus rubens http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Southeastern Field Cricket (Gryllus rubens) "
This species and Gryllus texensis are the only trilling Gryllus in the eastern United States (all others are chirpers).
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The trills of G. rubens vary in the regularity of the pulse sequences. When the pulses are interrupted by brief pauses lasting as long as a single pulse or a little longer, the trill sounds ""stuttery."" When the sequence of pulses is uninterrupted, the trill is ""smooth."" In some populations, stutter trilling is common. In others it is rare. Captured males do not always produce a single type of trill. The origin and significance of the variation in the smoothness of the trills is unknown.
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Gryllus texensis tends to produce shorter, more regular trills than G. rubens, but where they occur together, the two can be distinguished reliably only by the pulse rates of their calling songs (after the rates have been adjusted for temperature). Even though the two species are (thus far) almost indistinguishable morphologically (Gray et al. 2001) and readily hybridize in the laboratory, they maintain their integrity in the field (Walker 1998, 2000).
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N. Fla. seasonal data on SINA.
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More information: subfamily Gryllinae, genus Gryllus
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References: See genus page on SINA.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/482a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref61;Ref62;Ref63 Gryllus texensis text Gryllus texensis http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Texas Field Cricket (Gryllus texensis) "
This species was long but wrongly known as Gryllus integer. The real G. integer is a western species that is less similar to ""Texas integer"" (now G. texensis) than is G. rubens. In fact, males of G. texensis and G. rubens are thus far impossible to distinguish morphologically. Some females can be identified by the lengths of their ovipositors (Gray et al. 2001). The calling songs of G. texensis usually have shorter, more regular trills than those of G. rubens, but in places where both species occur, the only way to reliably distinguish their songs is by their pulse rates (after the rates have been adjusted for temperature effects). Even though the two species readily hybridize in the laboratory, they maintain their integrity in the field (Walker 1998, 2000).
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More information: subfamily Gryllinae, genus Gryllus
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References: See genus page on SINA.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/479a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref61;Ref62;Ref63 Gryllus veletis text Gryllus veletis http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Spring Field Cricket (Gryllus veletis) "
Gryllus veletis and G. pennsylvanicus cannot be reliably distinguished by either song or external morphology (although in some localities the ovipositors of G. pennsylvanicus average substantially longer than those of G. veletis). However, G. veletis overwinters as mid-to-late instar juveniles, whereas G. pennsylvanicus overwinters in the egg stage. Both species have only one generation per year. Consequently, G. veletis adults are most abundant in spring and G. pennsylvanicus adults are most abundant in fall. In all localities where the species have been studied, a few adults of the two species occur together in midsummer.
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More information: subfamily Gryllinae, genus Gryllus
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References: Burpee & Sakaluk 1993a, 1993b; see additional references on genus page on SINA.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/488a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref64;Ref65 Gryllus vernalis text Gryllus vernalis http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Northern Wood Cricket (Gryllus vernalis) "
The song of Gryllus vernalis resembles that of G. fultoni but has a slower pulse rate within the chirps and a slower chirp rate.
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More information: subfamily Gryllinae, genus Gryllus
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References: Jang and Gerhardt 2005, 2006.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/470a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref66;Ref67 Gryllus vocalis text Gryllus vocalis http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Vocal Field Cricket (Gryllus vocalis) "
David Weissman is currently revising the species of Gryllus from the western and central United States. That study will describe the song, morphology, life cycle, and geographical and ecological distribution of G. vocalis in relation to the many other western species.
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More information: subfamily Gryllinae, genus Gryllus
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Song at 25°C: Weissman et al. (1980) described the song as having 2 to 3 pulses per chirp produced at a rate of 25 to 42 per sec and averaging 220 chirps per minute at 25°C.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/466a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref44 Velarifictorus micado text Velarifictorus micado http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Japanese Burrowing Cricket (Velarifictorus micado) "
This species, native to Japan, was first discovered in the United States in 1959 (Alexander & Walker 1962). By 1977 it had become established in the District of Columbia and at least 23 counties in 6 southeastern states (Walker 1977). Its rapid spread was probably by overwintering eggs in soil in the root balls of ornamental shrubs shipped from nurseries near Mobile, Alabama. The largely suburban and spotty distribution of V. micado agrees with this scenario.
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Japanese burrowing crickets are yellowish brown with seven or fewer ragged pale longitudinal stripes extending forward on the head from the front margin of the pronotum. A pale transverse band (along the arms of the epicranial suture) connects the lateral ocelli, and the pronotal disk has pale spots or blotches. The palpi are white. Length 13-19 mm.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/551a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref68;Ref69 Antillicharis gryllodes text Antillicharis gryllodes http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Indies Bush Cricket (Antillicharis gryllodes) "
Identification: Length 17-22 mm. Ocellar diameter greater than distance between lateral and medial ocellus; no conical projections at ocelli; some bristles longer than 0.1 mm on head behind ocelli. Stridulatory file has 23–31 teeth.
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Habitat: Mangroves and subtropical hammocks.
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Season: Year-round.
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Song at 25°C: Buzzy chirps usually produced in groups of 2 or 3 with groups at intervals of 2–3 sec. Chirps have 10–14 pulses at 216 p/s, the fastest wingstroke rate known for crickets.
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Similar species: Antillicharis oriobates, the only other U.S. species of Antillicharis, is known from a single male from Biscayne Bay, Florida, and was recognized as distinct from A. gryllodes based on features of its genitalia.
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Remarks: This species is known from Cuba and probably originated there rather than in south Florida. Orocharis diplastes and O. nigrifrons may also have had a West Indian origin—but have yet to be found in the West Indies.
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More information: subfamily Eneopterinae, genus Antillicharis
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Reference: Otte & Perez-Gelabert 2009.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/682a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref25 Antillicharis oriobates text Antillicharis oriobates http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Antillean Bush Cricket (Antillicharis oriobates) "
Identification: This species may to be the same as the species treated here as Antillicharis gryllodes. (See Remarks below.)
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Habitat: No data.
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Season: No data.
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Song: No data.
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Similar species: Currently oriobates cannot be distinguished from Florida's ""gryllodes.""
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Remarks: Otte & Perez-Gelabert (2009) described A. oriobates based on a male from Biscayne Bay, Florida. They recognized oriobates as distinct from the species they identified as A. gryllodes based on features of its genitalia. They published lateral, dorsal, and ventral views of the genitalia of the holotype of oriobates and of an Antillicharis male from Cuba that they designated as an ""exemplar"" of gryllodes. They did not indicate what genitalic features were important in separating oriobates and gryllodes and the identification of their exemplar as gryllodes was not definitive because they did not examine the genitalia of the holotype of that species. Even though Jamaica has two species of ""Group 12"" of the species in Antillicharis (the group of Antillicharis species to which oriobates and their exemplar of gryllodes belong), they seemed to have assumed that Cuba has only one. All this leaves two relevant questions unanswered: (1) Is oriobates different from the species treated in SINA as gryllodes? and (2) Is the exemplar that Otte & Perez-Gelabert used to characterize their gryllodes conspecific with the holotype of that species?
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To characterize A. oriobates, Otte & Perez (2009) refer to their Figure 320, which includes a total of nine photographic images of the holotype. In addition they write, ""Pale brown; wings with lateral black and pale streak; pronotum lateral lobe black in upper quarter; tympanal condition I/O [large inner and large outer tympanum],"" and include these measurements of the holotype (lengths in mm): body, 20; forewing, 14; femur-3, 10.5; cercus, 5.
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More information: subfamily Eneopterinae, genus Antillicharis
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Reference: Otte & Perez-Gelabert 2009.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/695a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref25 Hapithus agitator text Hapithus agitator http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Restless Bush Cricket (Hapithus agitator) "
Identification: Length 9–14 mm. Short, compact crickets. Forewings covering more than two-thirds of abdomen (male forewings sometimes partially eaten away). Stridulatory file with fewer than 45 teeth, shorter than 0.85 mm.
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Habitat: Undergrowth in moist or wet wooded areas; roadside weeds.
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Season: Aug.–Nov. (Ind.), July–Dec. (n. Fla.), Mar.–Dec. (s. Fla.).
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Song at 25°C: Where calling occurs (see below) it consists of sequences of 5 to 20 buzzy chirps at a rate of 1-2/sec. Courtship song sounds a bit like someone twirling a halloween noise maker.
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Similar species: Loud-singing bush crickets (Orocharis)--hindwings longer than forewings; length greater (15-22 mm).
\n\n
Remarks: In peninsular Florida and eastern Texas, males of the restless bush cricket produce a loud distinctive song. Elsewhere they are not known to call. Little is known of how sexual pairs are formed in populations of non-calling crickets. Since non-calling restless bush crickets live in compact colonies, the males may simply roam about until they contact a female or are alerted to her presence by chemical cues. Once a female is located the male stays with her, sometimes producing soft courtship sounds with his forewings. If the female accepts a spermatophore from him, he puts his forewings to unique use by allowing the female to feed on them while the externally attached spermatophore is emptying into the female's sperm-storage sac. During one copulation a male may sacrifice a quarter of his forewings, and males are found that have nothing but stubs remaining. Copulating females of many other crickets feed on products of the male-for example, secretions from dorsal thoracic glands in tree crickets and blood from bleeding spines on the hindtibiae in ground crickets. Only in non-calling populations of restless bush crickets is the sexually successful male prominently mutilated. The nutritive value of the male's forewings and the consequences of a non-calling male averting mutilation are uninvestigated. The reproductive results of a male allowing a female to eat his forewings surely depend in part on whether the forewings can be used to call additional mating partners. Similarly the reproductive consequences for a female inseminated by a male that allows her to eat his forewings depend in part on whether her sons behave like their father.
\n\n
More information: subfamily Eneopterinae, genus Hapithus
\n\n
References: Griffiths 1952a, Alexander & Otte 1967.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/671a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref70;Ref71 Hapithus brevipennis text Hapithus brevipennis http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Short-winged Bush cricket (Hapithus brevipennis) "
Identification: Length 12–17 mm. Forewings covering less than two-thirds of abdomen; length of forewings generally less than 2.3 (males) or 2.2 (females) times medial length of pronotum. Stridulatory file with 45-70 teeth, 0.9 to 1.5 mm long.
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Habitat: On grass and shrubby undergrowth, especially in pine flatwoods.
\n\n
Season: Aug.–Dec.; N. Fla. seasonal data on SINA.
\n\n
Song: No calling song. No courtship sounds known, but courtship never observed. The tympana and stridulatory file are well developed.
\n\n
Similar species: Musical bush cricket--wings longer; more than 70 teeth in stridulatory file; loud calling song.
\n\n
More information: subfamily Eneopterinae, genus Hapithus
\n\n
References: Walker 1977.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/673a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref72 Hapithus melodius text Hapithus melodius http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Musical Bush Cricket (Hapithus melodius) "
Identification: Length 15–19 mm. Forewings covering less than two-thirds of abdomen; length of forewings generally more than 2.3 (males) or 2.2 (females) times medial length of pronotum. Stridulatory file with more than 70 teeth, 1.5 to 1.8 mm long.
\n\n
Habitat: On grass and shrubby undergrowth, especially in pinewoods and in sawgrass marshes.
\n\n
Season: June–Oct.
\n\n
Song at 25°C: A musical, irregular tink, tink, tink that speeds up and becomes a trill of ca. 14 p/s. Each such sequence lasts 8-20 sec., with the carrier frequency gradually increasing by several hundred Hertz. Courtship singing resembles calling except that the tinks are more irregular and no trills are produced.
\n\n
Similar species: Short-winged Bush Cricket (H. brevipennis)--wings shorter; fewer than 70 teeth in stridulatory file; no calling song.
\n\n
Remarks: The Musical and Short-winged Bush Crickets are are closely related. They have not been found together, but specimens of the two collected 50 miles apart maintain their distinctive features.
\n\n
More information: subfamily Eneopterinae, genus Hapithus
\n\n
References: Walker 1977.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/672a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref72 Orocharis diplastes text Orocharis diplastes http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Keys Bush Cricket (Orocharis diplastes) "
Identification: Length 15-19 mm. Ocellar diameter less than distance between lateral and median ocellus; no conical projections at ocelli; some bristles longer than 0.1 mm on head behind lateral ocelli. Face usually dark medially but if there is a median light area it is shaped like an inverted V, and the median portion of the face just above the light band along the epistomal suture is dark. Stridulatory file has 125–145 teeth.
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Habitat: Black and white mangroves.
\n\n
Season: Year round.
\n\n
Song at 25°C: Tinkling melodious trills lasting 0.5–2 sec. Pulses within trill are not paired and have two modes of spacing that correspond to 11 and 14 p/s.
\n\n
Similar species: (l) Black-faced bush cricket (O. nigrifrons)—no bristles longer than 0.1 mm on head behind lateral ocelli; stridulatory file has 98–110 teeth. (2) Three-horned bush cricket (O. tricornis)—conical projections at ocelli; stridulatory file has 110-130 teeth.
\n\n
More information: subfamily Eneopterinae, genus Orocharis
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/683a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Orocharis luteolira text Orocharis luteolira http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology False Jumping Bush Cricket (Orocharis luteolira) "
Identification: Length 15–21 mm. Ocellar diameter less than distance between lateral and median ocellus; no conical projections at lateral ocelli; sometimes one at median ocellus; some bristles longer than 0.1 mm on head behind lateral ocelli. Facial pattern varies but median light area reaches midpoint of epistomal suture. Stridulatory file has 66–82 teeth.
\n\n
Habitat: Broad-leaved trees; occasionally in herbaceous undergrowth, shrubs, and pine trees. Southernmost records are from broad-leaved woody undergrowth of pine and cypress forests.
\n\n
Season: Year-round in peninsular Florida with peaks of singing at Gainesville in Nov.-Dec. and May-June. Two generations apparent farther north, with adults peaking in early and late summer (June and Aug.-Sept.).
\n\n
Song at 25°C: Loud peep emitted at irregular 1.5–3 s intervals. Difficult to localize. Neighbors seem to alternate and are often noticeably different in pitch. Chirps have 4–9 pulses at 72 p/s. Carrier frequencies decrease more than 1 kHz at lower temperatures.
\n\n
Similar species: (l) Jumping bush cricket (O. saltator)—no distinguishing morphological features; chirps longer (0.15 s) with more pulses (10-18) and slower pulse rate (55/s). Where O. saltator and O. luteolira occur together, O. saltator is most abundant in dense, lowland woods and has one generation each year with adults in Aug.–Oct. (2) Three-horned bush cricket (O. tricornis)—conical projections over the lateral ocelli.
\n\n
Remarks: The geographical distributions of this species and the morphologically as-yet-indistinguishable jumping bush cricket overlap extensively. In the areas of overlap no intermediate calling songs occur, as would be expected if the two species were hybridizing, nor are there greater differences in calling songs, as might be expected if songs were confusingly similar to females. The two species maintain distinctive one-and-two-generation life cycles, but their mating seasons coincide in late summer.
\n\n
More information: subfamily Eneopterinae, genus Orocharis
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/681a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Orocharis nigrifrons text Orocharis nigrifrons http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Black-faced Bush Cricket (Orocharis nigrifrons) "
Identification: Length 15-18 mm. Ocellar diameter less than distance between lateral and median ocellus; weakly developed projections at ocelli; no bristles longer than 0.1 mm on head behind lateral ocelli. Face entirely black medially. Stridulatory file has 98-110 teeth.
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Habitat: Black mangrove; occasionally other mangroves.
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Season: Perhaps year-round (records are Mar.–Sept.).
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Song at 25°C: Tinkling, melodious trills lasting 1–3 sec. Pulses within trill are paired. Rates are 10 pr/s and (within pairs) 42 p/s.
\n\n
Similar species: Keys and three-horned bush crickets (O. diplastes and O. tricornis)—some bristles longer than 0.1 mm on head behind lateral ocelli; stridulatory file with 110–145 teeth.
\n\n
More information: subfamily Eneopterinae, genus Orocharis
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/684a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Orocharis saltator text Orocharis saltator http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Jumping Bush Cricket (Orocharis saltator) "
Identification: Length 15–20 mm. The only species of its genus in most of its range. Where it overlaps with the false jumping bush cricket (O. luteolira), it can be identified most reliably by song and season. Stridulatory file has 70–85 teeth.\n\n
Habitat: Broadleaved trees; occasionally in herbaceous undergrowth, shrubs, and pine trees.
\n\n
Season: Aug.–Oct. (Ind.), July–Dec. (La.) Throughout its distribution the jumping bush cricket apparently has but one generation a year and overwinters as eggs.
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Song at 25°C: Loud, clear chirp repeated at irregular, 1.5-3 sec. intervals. Difficult to localize. Chirps have 10––18 pulses at 55 p/s. Carrier frequencies decline by more than 1 kHz at temperatures below 25°C.
\n\n
Similar species: False jumping bush cricket (O. luteolira)—no distinguishing morphological features; chirps shorter (0.15 sec.) with fewer pulses (4-9) and faster pulse rate (71/sec.). Where O. luteolira and O. saltator occur together, O. luteolir a is most abundant in well-drained, open woodland and has two generations each year with adults numerous Apr.–June and mid-Aug.–Oct.
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More information: subfamily Eneopterinae, genus Orocharis
\n\n
References: Funk 1989.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/686a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref73 Orocharis tricornis text Orocharis tricornis http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Three-horned Bush Cricket (Orocharis tricornis) "
Identification: Length 17–21 mm. Ocellar diameter less than distance between lateral and median ocellus; conical projections at each ocellus; some bristles longer than 0.1 mm on head behind lateral ocelli. Facial pattern varies but if there is a median light area it does not reach the epistomal suture. Stridulatory file has 110-130 teeth.
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Habitat: Mangroves and subtropical hammocks.
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Season: Probably year-round (records are for Mar.–Aug. and Dec.).
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Song at 25°C: Brief chirp repeated at 0.5–2 sec. intervals. Chirps have 2–3 pulses at 40 p/s. Carrier frequency drops more than 1 kHz at lower temperatures.
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Similar species: (1) False jumping bush cricket (O. luteolira)—no conical projections at lateral ocelli; stridulatory file has 66-82 teeth. (2) Keys bush cricket (O. diplastes)—no conical projections at ocelli; stridulatory file has 125–145 teeth.
\n\n
More information: subfamily Eneopterinae, genus Orocharis
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/685a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Tafalisca lineatipes text Tafalisca lineatipes http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Robust Bush Cricket (Tafalisca lineatipes) "
Identification: Length 22–35 mm. Foretibia without tympanum; male forewings lacking stridulatory modifications. Hindtibia stout; combined length of hindtibia and first tarsal segment no greater than length of hindfemur. Hindwings slightly longer than forewings.
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Habitat: Red and white mangroves; more rarely on other coastal vegetation and inland on undergrowth in subtropical hammocks.
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Season: Probably year-round (no Feb. or March records).
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Song: Mute.
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Similar species: None.
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Remarks: These crickets are most easily collected by examining appropriate foliage with a light at night. They may spend daylight hours in tunnels gnawed into soft wood. A caged specimen burrowed into a cork and retreated inside during the days, expertly coiling its antennae so that they did not protrude from the entrance. Short hind tibiae are typical of tunnel-inhabiting crickets.
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More information: subfamily Eneopterinae
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Reference: Otte & Perez-Gelabert 2009.
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Nomenclature: OSF (Orthoptera Species File Online). This species was formerly misidentified on SINA as Tafalisca lurida F. Walker, but Otte & Perez, in their 2009 monograph Caribbean Crickets, made it evident that Florida Tafalisca are definitely not lurida and are, most likely, lineatipes.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/680a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref25 Xenogryllus sp. text Xenogryllus sp. http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Lychee Bush Cricket (Xenogryllus sp.) "
Identification: Xenogryllus is an Old World genus with five species known from localities from Africa and Bangladesh to Taiwan and Japan. One species has recently become established in southern Florida. Its specific identity is under study by Jeng-Tze Yang, National Chung Hsing Univeristy, Taiwan.
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Length 16-20 mm. Antennal flagellum black. Anterior tympanum well developed but only partially visible through narrow slit; posterior tympanum well defined and exposed. Lateral ocelli flat, lacking lenses, twice diameter of median ocellus, which has a lens and looks forward; lateral ocellar diameter less than distance between lateral and median ocellus. Male forewings conspicuously wider near tips; greatest width of right forewing more than 30% greater than width at file. Ovipositor <6 mm; shaft more than twice as wide as deep.
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Habitat: On foliage within 6 ft. of the ground, especially on lychee.
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Season: Perhaps year-round (records of adults are Aug. and Oct.–Nov.).
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Song at 25°C: Sequences of buzzy chirps sometimes delivered at a regular rate of 2-3/s. Chirps have 25–35 pulses at 200 p/s.
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Similar species: None.
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Remarks: This species was detected in 1993 because it was severely damaging young lychee trees near Homestead, Florida, by laying eggs in the small branches. It may have arrived as eggs in nursery stock imported to replant groves destroyed by hurricane Andrew. In August 1994, a nighttime, song-based census revealed that it occupied a 20 sq mi area that included Naranja and Aladdin City.
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More information: subfamily Eneopterinae
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/679a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Oecanthus alexanderi text Oecanthus alexanderi http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Alexander's Tree Cricket (Oecanthus alexanderi) "
Identification: Length–16 mm. No other U. S. cricket produces uniformly spaced chirps at a rate of less than one chirp per second. Antennal markings similar to those in the photograph above.
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Habitat: Disturbed areas of mixed growth forms.
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Season: The only records are from May and June, but there are no negative data for other months.
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Song at 25°C: A highly regular, slow, continuous series of long, melodious chirps. As shown in the spectrograms above, each chirp usually begins with a pair of pulses that is followed by a series of pulse triplets. Most chirps total 20 or 23 pulses.
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Song data: See Walker & Collins (2010).
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Similar species: Two other species of the Oecanthus riley species group, fultoni and rileyi, occur in the U.S. but each calls at chirp rates several times as fast as alexanderi and neither occurs in south-most Texas.
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Remarks: Nancy Collins, a nurse in Racine, Wisconsin, developed an interest in Oecanthinae in the summer of 2006 and soon pursued that interest with vigor and to good effect. For example, she founded a Tree Cricket Appreciation Group on Facebook (currently with 17 members) and authored a well-illustrated web site on the subfamily. In May 2009, she organized a field trip to find two species of Oecanthinae known in the United States only from the lower Rio Grande valley and not collected there for more than 50 years. She failed to find either of the two target species, but recorded an unfamiliar tree cricket call in two counties and heard it in a third. The song proved to be the same as one that R. D. Alexander had recorded in three localities in Mexico in 1965. This led to the description of this species, which is named in honor of a pioneer in the study of crickets and katydids and the first person to record its distinctive song.
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This species and the other species in the Oecanthus rileyi group have justifiably been dubbed ""thermometer crickets."" They produce chirps at rates that are so uniform and so linearly dependent on temperature that the approximate temperature where a male is calling can be deduced from its chirp rate as easily measured in the field. For more, see Walker & Collins (2010).
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More information: genus Oecanthus, subfamily Oecanthinae.
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References: Walker & Collins 2010.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/575a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref101 Oecanthus argentinus text Oecanthus argentinus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Prairie Tree Cricket (Oecanthus argentinus) "
Identification: Length 13–15 mm. Black marks on second antennal segment confluent, contiguous, or separated by no more than one-third the width of the inside mark; pronotum never black or with black or dusky stripes.
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Habitat: Prairies, old fields, crops.
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Season: Two generations annually in most areas; probably one in the most northern populations and perhaps more than two in the most southern ones. In central Ohio, the first generation adults occur in July and early August, and the second generation ones occur in September and October In southern Arizona, adults have been collected from early February to mid December.
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Song at 25°C: Continuous trill at 51 p/s and 3.8 kHz.
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Song data: See Walker 1963.
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Similar species: Four-spotted and fast-calling—black marks on second antennal segment separated by more than one-third width of the inside mark.
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Remarks: This species has apparently spread eastward in the past 50 years, probably in response to the extensive prairielike habitats produced by agriculture. The five herb-inhabiting species of the Oecanthus nigricornis species group—the prairie, four-spotted, black-horned, Forbes's, and fast-calling—are the most commonly encountered and the most difficult to identify tree crickets.
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More information: genus Oecanthus, subfamily Oecanthinae.
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References: Fulton 1926a, 1926b; Williams 1945; Walker 1963, 1967.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/581a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref102;Ref103;Ref104;Ref99;Ref105 Oecanthus californicus text Oecanthus californicus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Western Tree Cricket (Oecanthus californicus) "
Remarks: The crickets that are labeled pictipennis on SINA are like those described by Morgan Hebard (1935) as the subspecies Oecanthus californicus pictipennis . The taxonomic status of these crickets is uncertain, but it seems likely that pictipennis will prove to be specifically distinct from californicus. This is because pictipennis does not conform to the usual concept of subspecies (geographic race). Individuals of the typical, all-dusky-green coloration occur in some of the same geographic areas as the pictipennis coloration. Tree crickets of the pictipennis coloration occur only on juniper and pinyon pine, where, as the pictures demonstrate, their coloration makes them less conspicuous.
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Identification: Length 14–18 mm.
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Habitat: Shrubby vegetation and low trees.
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Season: Late May to November in s. Arizona; August until frost in Oregon; one generation annually in most, if not all, of range.
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Song at 25°C: Continuous, musical trill at 57? p/s and 3.8? KHz.
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Similar species: Texas tree cricket—except for differences in the calling song and distribution ???
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Remarks: Western tree crickets are quite diverse in pattern and coloration. More study may reveal host-specific species comparable to the pine and tamarack tree crickets in the four-spotted species group. For example, those collected on juniper are often distinctively but protectively colored.
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More information: genus Oecanthus, subfamily Oecanthinae.
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References: Fulton 1926b; Walker 1962, 1967; Walker & Gurney 1967.
\n" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/586a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref103;Ref106;Ref98;Ref99;Ref107 Oecanthus celerinictus text Oecanthus celerinictus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Fast-calling Tree Cricket (Oecanthus celerinictus) "
Identification: Length 13–15 mm. Outside marks on first and second antennal segments as heavily pigmented as inside ones; outside mark on first segment never round; tibiae and apex of hind femur with conspicuous dark markings; width of inside dark mark on first antennal segment less than distance between inside and outside marks; no dusky areas on pronotum; fewer than 50 teeth in stridulatory file.
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Habitat: Fields, roadsides, early successional stages.
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Season: Two generations annually; with break between generations in early August. First adults in mid May in Gainesville, Florida, to mid June farther north. Adults occur into Nov. unless killed earlier by frost.
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Song at 25°C: A continuous trill at 65 p/s; carrier frequency 4.0 kHz.
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Song data: See Walker 1963.
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Similar species: Four-spotted tree cricket—outside marks on first and second antennal segments usually less heavily pigmented than inside marks; outside mark on first segment often round; tibiae and apex of hind femur usually without conspicuous dark markings; more than 47 teeth in stridulatory file. Prairie tree cricket—black marks on second antennal segment confluent, contiguous, or separated by no more than one-third the width of the inside mark.
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Remarks: The five herb-inhabiting species of the Oecanthus nigricornis species group—the fast-calling, four-spotted, prairie, black-horned, and Forbes's—are the most commonly encountered and the most difficult to identify tree crickets.
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More information: genus Oecanthus, subfamily Oecanthinae.
\n\n
References: Fulton 1926a; Walker 1963, 1967; Prestwich & Walker 1981.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/583a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref102;Ref108;Ref104;Ref99 Oecanthus exclamationis text Oecanthus exclamationis http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Davis's Tree Cricket (Oecanthus exclamationis) "
Identification: Length 16–18 mm. Black mark on first antennal segment straight; no orange on the vertex.
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Habitat: Crowns of broad-leaved trees; sometimes in understory trees and tangled undergrowth.
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Season: Early August to mid-October in Ohio; June to Sept. in north Florida. One generation annually.
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Song at 25°C: A melodious trill irregularly interrupted, usually briefly and often after the trill has continued without interruption for >5 sec. Pulse rate 81/sec; frequency 2.7 kHz. Most easily confused with song of two-spotted tree cricket, but that species has a pulse rate of ca. 112/sec.
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Song data: See Walker 1962.
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Similar species: Narrow-winged tree cricket—black mark on first antennal segment J-shaped or strongly curved toward inner side; vertex marked with orange.
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Remarks: Davis's tree cricket not only shows a disjunct distribution in the United States, where it occurs in the eastern deciduous forest and in isolated, similar habitats in mountains in southern Arizona, but also occurs in southern Mexico (Walker 1967).
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More information: genus Oecanthus, subfamily Oecanthinae.
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References: Fulton 1915; Walker 1962, 1967; Walker & Gurney 1967
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/590a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref97;Ref98;Ref99;Ref107 Oecanthus forbesi text Oecanthus forbesi http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://www.eol.org/voc/table_of_contents#Notes Forbes's Tree Cricket (Oecanthus forbesi) "
Identification: Length 13–18 mm.
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More information: genus Oecanthus, subfamily Oecanthinae.
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References: Titus 1903; Fulton 1926a; Walker 1963.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/594a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref102;Ref109;Ref104 Oecanthus fultoni text Oecanthus fultoni http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Snowy Tree Cricket (Oecanthus fultoni) "
Identification: Length 15-18 mm. Black mark on first antennal segment round or oval; length of black mark on second antennal segment greater that half length of segment; width of dorsal field of male forewings more than 0.4 the length; more than 35 teeth in stridulatory file.
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Habitat: Shrubbery and vines around houses, unsprayed fruit trees, tangles of vines and trees at edges of clearings and along neglected fence rows; broadleaved trees, esp. scrubby oaks.
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Season: July to October; one generation per year.
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Song at 25°C: Regular, melodious chirps at ca. 2.8 ch/sec. in the east and ca 3.1 ch/sec in the west. Chirps usually have either 8 or 5 pulses, produced at ca. 52/sec. A chirp's pulses are not quite evenly spaced—chirps generally begin with a group of two pulses closely followed by consecutive groups of three. Thus most chirps have pulses grouped as 2,3,3 or 2,3. Carrier frequency is 2.7 kHz.
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Song data: See Fulton 1925 and Walker 1962. Similar species: Riley's tree cricket—dark mark on second antennal segment reduced (less than half length of segment) or absent; center of mark near distal border of segment.
\n\n
Remarks: The snowy tree cricket is sometimes called the “thermometer cricket” because its chirps are easily countable and their rate correlates well with the temperature at the cricket. In eastern United States, Fahrenheit temperature can be estimated by counting the chirps in 13 sec. and adding 40. West of the Great Plains, the snowy tree cricket chirps a bit faster (at a given temperature) and the recipe changes—e.g., count the chirps in 12.5 sec and add 38. Of course if you are really interested in using the snowy tree cricket as a thermometer, you should calibrate your local crickets against a thermometer placed near where they sing. Count their chirps per minute at a variety of temperatures, graph the results, draw a line that fits the points, and use a little algebra to arrive at a handy formula. One explanation of why snowy tree crickets sing faster in the West is that their faster chirps are more easily distinguished from the similar but slower chirps of Riley's tree crickets, which do not occur in the East. Careful studies in the West of chirp rates in and out of the zone of overlap between snowy and Riley's tree crickets should help interpret the variation.
\n
There is yet more to know about the song of the snowy tree cricket. Nathaniel Hawthorne described it as “audible stillness” and declared, “If moonlight could be heard, it would sound just like that.” On a more commercial note, producers of movies and television shows often dub the song of this species onto sound tracks to signal that the action is taking place on a quiet summer’s night in a rural or suburban setting.
\n\n
More information: genus Oecanthus, subfamily Oecanthinae.
\n\n
References: Shull 1907; Fulton 1915, 1925, 1926b; Allard 1930a, 1930b; Walker 1962, 1969; Block 1966.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/585a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref111;Ref112;Ref113;Ref97;Ref110;Ref103;Ref114;Ref98;Ref115 Oecanthus laricis text Oecanthus laricis http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Tamarack Tree Cricket (Oecanthus laricis) "
Identification: Length 13-15 mm. Head, pronotum, and legs brown; forewings green (but the green fades in pinned specimens); length of forewings <12 mm.
\n\n
Habitat: On tamarack in southeastern Michigan and hemlock in northeastern Ohio.
\n\n
Season: August and September; one generation annually.
\n\n
Song at 25°C: A continuous trill at 37 p/s; carrier frequency 3.4 kHz.
\n\n
Song data: See Walker 1963.
\n\n
Similar species: Pine tree cricket—on pine and balsam fir; length of forewings >12 mm.
\n\n
More information: genus Oecanthus, subfamily Oecanthinae.
\n\n
References: Walker 1963.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/591a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref104 Oecanthus latipennis text Oecanthus latipennis http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Broad-winged Tree Cricket (Oecanthus latipennis) "
Identification: Length 17–22 mm. Male forewings usually more than 14 mm. long; bases of the antennae stained with red or pink.
\n\n
Habitat: Shrubs and low trees in dry woods; thickets of vines, brambles, and coarse weeds along woodland edges and fencerows.
\n\n
Season: Matures later than other tree crickets—mid August in the north, mid July in the south; active until frost kills.
\n\n
Song at 25°C: Loud, musical, continuous trill at 54 p/sec and 3.1 KHz.
\n\n
Similar species: Texas and western tree crickets—3rd segment of the antennae usually much darker than the 2nd; frequently a distinct dark line on the inner edge of first two antennal segments; male tegmina usually less than 14 mm.
\n\n
Remarks: Our largest tree cricket.
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More information: genus Oecanthus, subfamily Oecanthinae.
\n\n
References: Fulton 1915; Funk 1989; Walker 1962.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/592a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref97;Ref73;Ref98 Oecanthus leptogrammus text Oecanthus leptogrammus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Thin-lined Tree Cricket (Oecanthus leptogrammus) "
Identification: Length 15–18 mm. Black mark on first antennal segment straight and very thin.
\n\n
Habitat: Broad-leaved trees and shrubs.
\n\n
Season: Near Brownsville, Texas, adults have been collected as early as May and as late as November.
\n\n
Song: Not recorded; described as similar to song of narrow-winged tree cricket.
\n\n
Similar species: None.
\n\n
Remarks: This species is widely distributed in Mexico and Central America.
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More information: genus Oecanthus, subfamily Oecanthinae.
\n\n
References: Walker 1962, 1967; Walker & Gurney 1967.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/576a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref98;Ref99;Ref107 Oecanthus nigricornis text Oecanthus nigricornis http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://www.eol.org/voc/table_of_contents#Notes Black-horned Tree Cricket (Oecanthus nigricornis) "
Identification: Length 14–18 mm.
\n\n
More information: genus Oecanthus, subfamily Oecanthinae.
\n\n
References: Fulton 1915, 1926a; Walker 1963; Walker & Gurney 1967; Sismondo 1979.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/589a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref97;Ref102;Ref116;Ref104;Ref107 Oecanthus niveus text Oecanthus niveus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Narrow-winged Tree Cricket (Oecanthus niveus) "
Identification: Length 13–16 mm. Black mark on first antennal segment J-shaped or strongly curved toward inner side; vertex marked with orange (in fresh specimens).
\n\n
Habitat: Crowns of broad-leaved trees; sometimes in understory trees and tangled undergrowth; occasionally on herbacous plants such as blackberry and goldenrod.
\n\n
Season: Early August to mid-October in Ohio; mid May to December in north Florida. One generation a year in most of its range; two in north Florida. In south Florida, adults occur year round.
\n\n
Song at 25°C: A melodious trill interrupted briefly at intervals of 5 sec or less. Interruptions are not synchronized, so when several males are calling the sound becomes continuous. Pulse rate 71/sec; frequency 3.0 kHz. Easily confused with the songs of two-spotted and Davis's tree crickets, but trills by these species are interrupted at longer intervals and have faster pulse rates.
\n\n
Song data: See Walker 1962.
\n\n
Similar species: Davis's tree cricket—black mark on first antennal segment straight; no orange on the vertex.
\n\n
Remarks: Those delving into the scientific literature should be warned that the scientific name of this species, Oecanthus niveus, was mistakenly applied to O. fultoni (snowy tree cricket) prior to 1960.
\n\n
References: Shull 1907; Fulton 1915, 1925; Allard 1930b; Walker 1962, 1967.
\n\n
More information: genus Oecanthus, subfamily Oecanthinae.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/584a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref112;Ref97;Ref110;Ref114;Ref98;Ref99 Oecanthus pini text Oecanthus pini http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Pine Tree Cricket (Oecanthus pini) "
Identification: Length 16–18 mm. Head, pronotum, and legs (except for hind femora) brown; forewings light green (but the green fades in pinned specimens); length of forewings >12 mm.
\n\n
Habitat: Foliage of various species of pine, including pitch, scrub, shortleaf, loblolly, and white; also balsam fir.
\n\n
Season: First adults mid June in the south, early August in the north. In northern localities calling lasts until frost, but it may end earlier in the south. One generation annually.
\n\n
Song at 25°C: A continuous trill at 45 p/s; carrier frequency 3.5 kHz.
\n\n
Song data: See Walker 1963.
\n\n
Similar species: Tamarack tree cricket—on tamarack or hemlock; colors darker; length of forewings <12 mm.
\n\n
Remarks: The pine tree cricket usually is well out of reach in the crowns of pine trees. It is also remarkably difficult to see when it nestles head inward among the needles of its host. The brown anterior blends with the bundle sheaves and the green forewings with the needles.
\n\n
More information: genus Oecanthus, subfamily Oecanthinae.
\n\n
References: Fulton 1915; Walker 1963.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/587a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref97;Ref104 Oecanthus quadripunctatus text Oecanthus quadripunctatus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Four-spotted Tree Cricket (Oecanthus quadripunctatus) "
Identification: Length 13–15 mm (Bay Area, California, 10–14 mm). Outside marks on first and second antennal segments usually less heavily pigmented than inside marks; outside mark on first segment often round; tibiae and apex of hind femur usually without conspicuous dark markings; more than 47 teeth in stridulatory file.
\n\n
Habitat: Open areas, including roadsides, old fields, and crops. Mostly on herbaceous plants but males sometimes call from the lower limbs of trees or shrubs.
\n\n
Season: One generation annually in the north with adults occurring from late July or August until frost. Two or more generations annually in the south with first generation adults appearing in May near Gainesville, Florida, and in June near Raleigh, North Carolina. In Gainesville, adults occur through December. Farther south in Florida, adults occur year round.
\n\n
Song at 25°C: A continuous trill at 41 p/s; carrier frequency 3.9 kHz.
\n\n
Song data: See Walker 1963.
\n\n
Similar species: Fast-calling tree cricket—Outside marks on first and second antennal segments as heavily pigmented as inside ones; outside mark on first segment never round; tibiae and apex of hind femur with conspicuous dark markings; width of inside dark mark on first antennal segment less than distance between inside and outside marks; fewer than 50 teeth in stridulatory file. Prairie tree cricket—black marks on second antennal segment confluent, contiguous, or separated by no more than one-third the width of the inside mark.
\n\n
Remarks: The five herb-inhabiting species of the Oecanthus nigricornis species group—the four-spotted, prairie, black-horned, Forbes's, and fast-calling—are the most commonly encountered and the most difficult to identify tree crickets.
\n\n
More information: genus Oecanthus, subfamily Oecanthinae.
\n\n
References: Fulton 1915, 1926a; Walker 1963, 1967; Walker & Rentz 1967; Prestwich & Walker 1981.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/582a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref97;Ref102;Ref117;Ref104;Ref99;Ref118 Oecanthus rileyi text Oecanthus rileyi http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Riley's Tree Cricket (Oecanthus rileyi) "
Identification: Length 15–18 mm. Black mark on first antennal segment round or oval; length of black mark on second antennal segment less than half length of segment; width of dorsal field of male forewings more than 0.4 the length; more than 35 teeth in stridulatory file.
\n\n
Habitat: Vines, shrubbery, low trees and crowns of high trees; chaparral; berry bushes and wild rose.
\n\n
Season: Late June to November in southern California; August until killing frosts farther north; one generation annually.
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Song at 25°C: Regular, melodius chirps at ca. 1.9 ch/sec. Chirps usually have either 11, 8, or 14 pulses, produced at ca. 52/sec. A chirp's pulses are not quite evenly spaced—chirps generally begin with a group of two pulses closely followed by consecutive groups of three. Thus most chirps have pulses grouped as 2,3,3,3 or 2,3,3 or 2,3,3,3,3. Carrier frequency is 2.7 kHz.
\n\n
Song data: See Fulton 1925 and Walker 1962.
\n\n
Similar species: Snowy tree cricket—length of dark mark on second antennal segment more than half length of segment; center of mark near center of segment.
\n\n
Remarks: Riley's tree cricket, like the snowy, can substitute for a thermometer because its chirps are easily countable and their rate correlates well with the temperature at the cricket. A recipe for estimating Fahrenheit temperature from the song of Riley's tree cricket, derived from data collected by B. B. Fulton in Oregon, is to count the chirps in 22 sec and add 37.
\n\n
More information: genus Oecanthus, subfamily Oecanthinae.
\n\n
References: Fulton 1925, 1926b; Walker 1962; Walker & Gurney 1967.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/588a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref107;Ref103;Ref110;Ref98 Oecanthus varicornis text Oecanthus varicornis http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Different-horned Tree Cricket (Oecanthus varicornis) "
Identification: Length 15–18 mm. Third segment of the antenna usually much darker than the second; stridulatory file 0.86–1.20 mm long with 26–36 teeth.
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Habitat: Xeric woodland; often high in vine-covered trees.
\n\n
Season: Apparently year round; adults collected all months except October and November.
\n\n
Song at 25°C: Continuous, musical trill at 76 p/s and 3.7 KHz.
\n\n
Similar species: Texas and western tree crickets—more than 40 teeth in stridulatory file, calling songs with pulse rates <65/s.
\n\n
Remarks: Different-horned tree crickets often sing from higher perches than is characteristic of the other members of the broad-winged species group of Oecanthus.
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More information: genus Oecanthus, subfamily Oecanthinae.
\n\n
References: Walker 1962, 1967.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/593a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref98;Ref99 Oecanthus walkeri text Oecanthus walkeri http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Walker's Tree Cricket (Oecanthus walkeri) "
Identification: Length 15–17 mm. For antennal markings and the general appearance of male, female, and juvenile, see images above. As noted below under Similar Species, the place of calling may be the simplest means of distinguishing this Oecanthus from its close relatives. If the pulse rate of a song and the temperature at which the song was produced are known, the species may be identified by its song.
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Habitat: ""Found on Seep Willow (Baccharis salicipholia), Tepejuage (Leucaena iveruienta) and Sugar Hackberry (Celtis laevigata) trees. Generally heard singing 8 - 20 feet high. The lowest individuals were found 4 feet above ground level on a Seep Willow sapling."" (N. Collins)
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Season: ""Second stage instars through adults encountered in May in extreme southern Texas. Second generation offspring of collected individuals emerged in captivity in late July, and ultimately mated in early October. No subsequent generations were raised."" (N. Collins)
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Song at 25°C: Continuous trill at ca 43 p/s. This is faster than O. quadripunctatus, slower than O. argentinus, and much slower than O. celerinictus.
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Similar species: ""Three other species of the Oecanthus nigricornis species group, argentinus, quadripunctatus and celerinictus, also occur in extreme southern Texas. These species, however, are not known to occur high in trees. Unlike O. walkeri, neither O. quadripunctatus nor O. celerinictus have black on the antennae or limbs. Although O. argentinus does have black on the antennae and limbs, it does not have a creamy white ventral abdomen."" (N. Collins)
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More information: Genus Oecanthus, subfamily Oecanthinae.
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References: Collins & Symes 2012.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/574a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref119 Trigonidomimus belfragei text Trigonidomimus belfragei http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Belfrage's Cricket (Trigonidomimus belfragei) "
Identification: Length 5-7 mm. A small brown cricket that looks superficially like a sword-tail cricket (Trigonidiinae) but has the antennae originating below the middle of the face. The second tarsal segments are small and cylindrical; the hind tibiae are slender and modestly spined; and the ovipositor is slender and straight.
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Habitat: Unknown; flies to light. The tarsi and ovipositor resemble those of ground dwelling species.
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Season: Aug.–Oct.
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Song: Unknown. Males of some species of anomalous crickets have female-like forewings and are mute.
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Similar species: (l) Sword-tail crickets (Trigonidiinae)—second tarsal segments pad-like; ovipositor flattened and often curved. (2) Ground crickets (Nemobiinae)—tibia robust with large spines.
\n\nRemarks: This species is known from only four specimens, all female: two from Bosque County, Texas; one from Stillwater, Oklahoma; and one from Vera Cruz, Mexico. Because the records are so few and the habitat is unknown, the distribution of Belfrage's crickets within the United States is highly uncertain.\n\n
More information: subfamily Pentacentrinae
\n\n
References: Caudell 1912, Hebard 1932.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/401a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref120;Ref121 Cyphoderris buckelli text Cyphoderris buckelli http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Buckell's Grig (Cyphoderris buckelli) "
Identification: Length 17–26 mm. Male subgenital plate lacking ventrally directed process.
\n\n
Habitat: Forest characterized by yellow pine and, at higher elevations, by interior Douglas fir.
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Season: May–July.
\n\n
Song at 25°C: A succession of short trills consisting of long duration pulses produced at a rate of about 54/s. The carrier frequency is nearly pure and about 13 kHz. Males call at night and stay within a meter of the forest floor.
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Similar species: Other hump-winged grigs—male subgenital plate with ventrally directed process.
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More information: family Prophalangopsidae
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/337a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Cyphoderris monstrosa text Cyphoderris monstrosa http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Great Grig (Cyphoderris monstrosa) "Identification: Length 20–30 mm. Male subgenital plate with a ventrally directed process that is shaped like the nail-pulling claw of a hammer.\n\nHabitat: Forest characterized by lodgepole pine, Englemann spruce, and mountain hemlock. At night some individuals climb high into trees, probably to feed on staminate cones.\n\nSeason: June–Aug.\n\nSong at 25°C: A succession of short trills consisting of short duration pulses produced at a rate of about 76/sec. The carrier frequency is nearly pure and about 13 kHz. Males begin calling at late dusk at the bases of tree trunk and climb higher as the night progresses. An hour after sunset most are out of reach; calling from heights of more than 5 m is common.\n\nSimilar species: Sagebrush grig (C. strepitans)—ventrally directed process of male subgenital plate not cleft.\n\nMore information: family Prophalangopsidae\n\nReferences: Bucknell 1923; Spooner 1973; Mesa & Ferreira 1984; Mason 1991, 1996; Mason et al. 1999." http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/339a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref123;Ref124;Ref125;Ref126;Ref127;Ref128 Cyphoderris strepitans text Cyphoderris strepitans http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Sagebrush Grig (Cyphoderris strepitans) "
Identification: Length 17–26 mm. Male subgenital plate with prominent, ventrally directed process that is not terminally cleft.
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Habitat: High altitude sagebrush prairie and open forests of lodgepole pine and subalpine fir.
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Season: June–Aug.
\n\n
Song at 25°C: A succession of short trills consisting of short duration pulses produced at a rate of about 54/s. The carrier frequency is nearly pure and about 13 kHz. Males call at night and stay within a meter of the forest floor. Calling occurs at temperatures as low as 2°C!
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Similar species: Cyphoderris monstrosa has the ventrally directed process of male subgenital plate shaped like the nail-pulling claw of a hammer.
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More information: family Prophalangopsidae
\n\n
References: Morris & Gwynne 1978, Mesa & Ferreira 1984, Sakaluk et al. 1987, Morris et al. 1989, Sakaluk & Snedden 1990, Snedden & Sakaluk 1992, Eggert & Sakaluk 1994, Snedden & Irazuzta 1994, Sakaluk et al. 1995, Snedden 1996.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/338a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref127;Ref135;Ref130;Ref129;Ref8;Ref133;Ref132;Ref134;Ref137;Ref136 Conocephalus attenuatus text Conocephalus attenuatus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://www.eol.org/voc/table_of_contents#Notes Long-tailed Meadow Katydid (Conocephalus attenuatus) "
More information: subfamily Conocephalinae, genus Conocephalus
\n\n
References: Morris & Fullard 1983.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/228a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref138 Conocephalus brevipennis text Conocephalus brevipennis http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://www.eol.org/voc/table_of_contents#Notes Short-winged Meadow Katydid (Conocephalus brevipennis) "
N. Fla. seasonal data on SINA.
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More information: subfamily Conocephalinae, genus Conocephalus
\n\n
References: Morris & Fullard 1983; Bailey & Morris 1986.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/234a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref139;Ref138 Conocephalus cinereus text Conocephalus cinereus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://www.eol.org/voc/table_of_contents#Notes Caribbean Meadow Katydid (Conocephalus cinereus) "
More information: subfamily Conocephalinae, genus Conocephalus
\n\n
References: Gurney 1959.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/232a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref140 Conocephalus fasciatus text Conocephalus fasciatus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://www.eol.org/voc/table_of_contents#Notes Slender Meadow Katydid (Conocephalus fasciatus) "
N. Fla. seasonal data on SINA.
\n\n
More information: subfamily Conocephalinae, genus Conocephalus
\n\n
References: Stainer 1975.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/231a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref141 Conocephalus gracillimus text Conocephalus gracillimus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#Cyclicity Graceful Meadow Katydid (Conocephalus gracillimus) "
N. Fla. seasonal data on SINA.
\n\nMore information: subfamily Conocephalinae, genus Conocephalus " http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/239a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Conocephalus saltans text Conocephalus saltans http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#Cyclicity Prairie Meadow Katydid (Conocephalus saltans) "
N. Fla. seasonal data on SINA.
\n\n
More information: subfamily Conocephalinae, genus Conocephalus
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/225a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Odontoxiphidium apterum text Odontoxiphidium apterum http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#Cyclicity Wingless Meadow Katydid (Odontoxiphidium apterum) "
N. Fla. seasonal data on SINA.
\n\n
More information: subfamily Conocephalinae
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/241a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Odontoxiphidium text Odontoxiphidium http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#Cyclicity Wingless Meadow Katydid (Odontoxiphidium apterum) "
N. Fla. seasonal data on SINA.
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More information: subfamily Conocephalinae
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/241a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Orchelimum agile text Orchelimum agile http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://www.eol.org/voc/table_of_contents#Notes Agile Meadow Katydid (Orchelimum agile) "
\n\n
More information: subfamily Conocephalinae, genus Orchelimum
\n\n
References: Nielsen 1978.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/252a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref149 Orchelimum bradleyi text Orchelimum bradleyi http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#Cyclicity Bradley's Meadow Katydid (Orchelimum bradleyi) "
\n\n
More information: subfamily Conocephalinae, genus Orchelimum
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/254a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Orchelimum nigripes text Orchelimum nigripes http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Black-legged Meadow Katydid (Orchelimum nigripes) "
Remarks: Leo Shapiro, who published on his wide-ranging studies of the relationship between Orchelimum nigripes and O. pulchellum in 1998, 2000, and 2001, wrote this update for SINA in December 2005:
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Orchelimum nigripes and O. pulchellum are clearly closely allied katydids. They are morphologically and genetically very similar (although clearly distinct over most of their distributions) and no differences are known in their ecology or song despite extensive field experience by several observers. (However, neither ecology nor song have yet been rigorously compared.)
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The big picture is that O. nigripes (map on SINA) and O. pulchellum (map on SINA) are distributed west and east, respectively, of the Appalachian Mountains from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast and along the Atlantic Coastal Plain from New York to the Florida Keys, although these katydids are not found in the Appalachians themselves. South of the Appalachians, Shapiro (1998) found that the two taxa meet in a very broad zone of intergradation. However, O. nigripes complicates this picture a bit. Orchelimum nigripes has become established in at least one area east of the Appalachians, in the Potomac River basin, where it has completely replaced O. pulchellum along the river corridor above Washington, D.C., from at least Great Falls to Roosevelt Island (Shapiro 1998). Based on a comparison of current distributions with museum specimens collected from specific sites during the first half of this century and with an early annotated list of the Orthoptera of Plummer's Island, MD (McAtee and Caudell 1918) it appears that O. nigripes has appeared (or, at least, become established) along the Potomac River quite recently, within the last 50-75 years or less.
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My examination of museum specimens in the early 1990s found that at least five typical-looking O. nigripes (deposited at the USNM) were collected by Henry Fox in 1913 near the Rappahannock River in Tappahannock, VA (~175 km south of D.C.). However, O. pulchellum were also collected here, also by Fox, in 1915 (specimens deposited at ANSP). In the mid-1990's, Shapiro (1998) found O. pulchellum to be abundant and widespread in this area but found no O. nigripes.
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Single O. nigripes specimens were collected at Amherst, MA, in 1964 (deposited in the University of Massachusetts Entomology Department collection) and 1993 (collected by L. Shapiro, singing along a roadside at the edge of an agricultural field). Both of these specimens exhibited typical O. nigripes morphology and coloration and at least the 1993 specimen had characteristic O. nigripes allozyme alleles for MDH and IDH (Shapiro 1998). Perhaps a careful survey would turn up an established O. nigripes population around Amherst.
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David Funk (Stroud Water Research Center) found what he believed to be O. nigripes and O. pulchellum occurring together in Kent County on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Specimens he sent me appeared to be morphologically typical O. nigripes and O. pulchellum. Funk's apparently sympatric nigripes/pulchellum sites could be exceptionally interesting for anyone interested in initiating long-term ecological and/or behavioral and/or genetic studies of their interactions. At a minimum, further, geographically broad collecting in this area is critical. Funk also reports O. nigripes from southeastern Pennsylvania.
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Responding to my inquiry in September 2005, Funk wrote:
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It looks to me as though [O. nigripes] are getting more common in our area (southern Chester Co., PA). I collected some about an hour north of here in 2003, at Scott's Run Lake in French Creek State Park, Berks Co. PA (one male, one female, ix.10.2003...There were bunches of them a couple weeks ago at that same spot (didn't collect any, though)).
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[The area where I have collected O. nigripes and O. pulchellum in sympatry] is really two general areas, about a mile or so apart in Kent Co., MD, between the towns of Betterton and Chestertown on the Eastern Shore. Two creeks enter the Bay there. One is Still Pond Creek. There is a spot near the mouth called Codjus Cove (it shows on some fine-scale maps). There are several little cattail marshes there where I collected both species starting in 1996. The other spot is at Churn Creek. Again, several small cattail and other marshes along a large cove (I don't know if it has a name) near the mouth. I had been visiting those creeks since the early 1980's (a friend of mine has a house there), but I never really paid attention to the Orchs prior to 1996, so I don't know if they were common there or not earlier. I do see that in my collection I have two nigripes (one male, one female) collected at Andelot (about 2 miles away) on August 21, 1984.
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I would say nigripes is more common than pulchellum, at least in recent years.
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As to fine scale distributions, they look like their habitat preferences are just about identical. Definitely both riparian, anyway.
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I have encouraged Dave to collect series of both O. nigripes and O. pulchellum from both Kent County, MD, and southeastern Pennsylvania to deposit at ANSP, FSCA, and USNM, as well as to freeze some vouchers if possible for future genetic studies (he reports that he collected 19 nigripes and 7 pulchellum from these sympatric sites in 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1999, but must retain these as vouchers for his personal collection).
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Finally, also in southeastern Pennsylvania, Rob Broekhuis recently discovered O. nigripes in Upper Macungie Township (~Allentown), Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, and collected one male singing on a soybean plant on 24 September 2005. I examined the specimen and it appeared to be a morphologically typical O. nigripes. Broekhuis previously posted a photo of another individual in this area, photographed 12 September 2004: http://bugguide.net/node/view/7010. It is not yet clear how abundant or widespread O. nigripes is in this area, or what the status of O. pulchellum is there. Hopefully someone can do some more extensive prospecting and collecting in this area in the near future. More information on the distribution of O. pulchellum and O. nigripes throughout Pennsylvania might conceivably provide insight on how O. nigripes reached the Potomac River.
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If anyone has information to add to this summary of the status and distribution of O. nigripes and O. pulchellum, please forward it to both Leo Shapiro (lshapiro@eol.org) and Tom Walker (tjw@ufl.edu). I (Leo) would be very happy to provide advice (and encouragement!) to anyone interested in pursuing further investigations of these wonderful beasts, whether through simple avocational scouting and collecting to improve our understanding of their distributions or as part of a formal research project.
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In October 2006, Leo added this to his earlier update: ""On 22 September 2006, John Himmelman encountered a population of singing O. nigripes at Hurd State Park in Haddam (Middlesex County), Connecticut. They were in grasses and sedges along the sandy banks of the Connecticut River. I have examined two adult male specimens and Himmelman has posted photos on a web site; all appear to be O. nigripes.""
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More information: subfamily Conocephalinae, genus Orchelimum
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References: Cabrero et al. 1999; Feaver 1983, 1985; Shapiro 1995b, 1998, 2000, 2001.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/262a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref154;Ref155;Ref156;Ref157;Ref158;Ref159;Ref160 Orchelimum pulchellum text Orchelimum pulchellum http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Handsome Meadow Katydid (Orchelimum pulchellum) "
N. Fla. seasonal data on SINA.
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Remarks: An update of what is known of the relationship between this species and Orchelimum nigripes is posted in the Remarks section for that species.
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More information: subfamily Conocephalinae, genus Orchelimum
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References: Cabrero et al. 1999; Shapiro 1998, 2000, 2001.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/251a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref154; Ref158;Ref159;Ref160 Bucrates malivolans text Bucrates malivolans http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Cattail Conehead (Bucrates malivolans) "
Identification: Cone round-tipped without a prominent gap between it and the face; wings cover most or all of abdomen. Length 29-35 and 46-56 mm for short- and long-winged males; 34-46 and 57-70 for short- and long-winged females.
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Habitat: Freshwater marshes on cattails, sawgrass, and other tall grasses. Also in moist thickets and in tangled vegetation along wet or flooded ditches.
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Season: July–Sept., except in south Florida, where adults occur as early as April and as late as January. Perhaps breeding is continuous. Elsewhere there is one generation a year, with adults appearing no earlier than June; N. Fla. seasonal data on SINA.
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Song: Coarse, raspy buzz repeated individually or at a nearly regular rate of about 2/sec. for short to medium sequences. Neighbors do not synchronize.
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Similar species: Neoconocephalus exiliscanorus is somewhat similar in habitat and quality of song; but its buzzes are shorter and more rapidly and regularly produced.
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Remarks: Cattail coneheads can be shortwinged and flightless or longwinged (like a Neoconocephalus and presumably airworthy). They can also be brown or green and male or female. There are thus eight possible categories; however, no longwinged, green males are known. Few males are green (<5%), but nearly 50% of females are. The shortwinged form is predominant in both sexes (about 70% vs. 30% long-winged forms).
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More information: subfamily Copiphorinae
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References: Hebard 1939.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/181a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref164 Neoconocephalus affinis text Neoconocephalus affinis http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Rattler Conehead (Neoconocephalus affinis) "
Identification: Anterior ventral carina of middle femur with 3 or 4 spines; stridulatory vein, viewed from above, exceeding 3 mm and of approximate uniform width. Length 47-59 mm for males and 53-70 for females.
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Habitat: Tropical hammock.
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Season: Aug. (perhaps year-round).
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Song: Bouts of rattling, mostly between 1 and 4 h after sunset, with component sequences lasting 1 sec to 5 min or longer.
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Similar species: Neoconocephalus maxillosus, which has the anterior ventral carina of the middle femur with 0-1 spines; stridulatory vein, viewed from above, less than 3 mm.
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Remarks: Neoconocephalus affinis is common throughout the Caribbean but in the United States is known only from northern Key Largo.
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More information: subfamily Copiphorinae, genus Neoconocephalus
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References: Brush et al. 1985; Greenfield 1983, 1993.
\n\n" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/185a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref165;Ref166;Ref167 Neoconocephalus bivocatus text Neoconocephalus bivocatus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology False Robust Katydid (Neoconocephalus bivocatus) "
Identification: Length 49–68 mm. Cone immaculate beneath or with transverse black mark near top. Ovipositor longer than 1.2 times length of hind femur. Width of stridulatory area less than 4.9 mm. Male pronotal length less than 1.8 times rear width.
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Habitat: Roadsides, old fields, and pastures in well-drained and upland areas.
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Season: July–Sept. Matures about two weeks prior to the Neoconocephalus robustus.
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Song: A loud, even, continuous buzz.
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Similar species: Neoconocephalus robustus has the ovipositor less than 1.2 times as long as the hind femur, width of stridulatory area more than 4.9 mm. Neoconocephalus velox has the ovipositor shorter than the hind femur, male pronotal length greater than 1.8 times rear width. Neoconocephalus palustris is smaller and has the ovipositor shorter than the hind femur.
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More information: subfamily Copiphorinae, genus Neoconocephalus
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References: Walker et al. 1974, Deily and Schul 2004.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/189a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref168;Ref169 Neoconocephalus caudellianus text Neoconocephalus caudellianus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Caudell's Conehead (Neoconocephalus caudellianus) "
Identification: Length 53-61 mm for males and 60-72 mm for females. Robust cone edged with black on its lower surface; ovipositor slightly longer than the hind femur.
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Habitat: Wet grassy areas; freshwater marshes.
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Season: July–Aug; N. Fla. seasonal data on SINA.
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Song: Powerful 0.5 sec. buzz repeated once per second. Neighboring individuals synchronize their buzzes.
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Similar species: Neoconocephalus ensiger is smaller and has a thinner cone that is decidedly pinched in at the sides. Neoconocephalus robustus has a cone that is immaculate beneath or with black only at the tip.
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More information: subfamily Copiphorinae, genus Neoconocephalus
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/192a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Neoconocephalus ensiger text Neoconocephalus ensiger http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Sword-bearing Conehead (Neoconocephalus ensiger) "
Identification: Length 45-55 mm for males; 52-64 mm for females. Cone with pinched-in sides and a lower surface edged in black; stridulatory vein long and weakly swollen.
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Habitat: Wet grassy areas; moist fields and roadsides.
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Season: July–Sept.
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Song at 25°C: A continuous series of lisps at a rate of 10 per second, sounding like a distant, fast-moving steam locomotive (to those who are old enough to remember). A distinctive song. At low temperatures, neighbors synchronize their lisps.
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Similar Species: Neoconocephalus caudellianus is larger and its cone is thicker, with sides less distinctly pinched in. Neoconocephalus nebrascensis and N. lyristes have the lower surface of the cone wholly black or nearly so and stridulatory vein thicker and with more pronounced subsidiary veins.
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More information: subfamily Copiphorinae, genus Neoconocephalus
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References: Faure & Hoy 2000, Gwynne 1977, Libersat & Hoy 1991, Shaw et al. 1982.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/194a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref170;Ref171;Ref172;Ref173 Neoconocephalus exiliscanorus text Neoconocephalus exiliscanorus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Slightly Musical Conehead (Neoconocephalus exiliscanorus) "
Identification: The conehead with the longest cone: 4-6 mm, measured from the ventral tooth to the tip. Ovipositor 35-50 mm. Length 49-66 mm for males and 53-74 for females.
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Habitat: Wet or moist thickets, canebrakes, cattail marshes, along streams in forests, cornfields.
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Season: July–Sept.
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Song: Loud, raspy, brief (0.1 sec.) buzzes produced regularly for at least a few seconds at a rate of about 3 per sec. Neighboring individuals synchronize.
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Similar Species: Neoconocephalus lyristes has a shorter, more slender-tipped cone.
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More information: subfamily Copiphorinae, genus Neoconocephalus
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/197a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Neoconocephalus lyristes text Neoconocephalus lyristes http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Slender Conehead (Neoconocephalus lyristes) "
Identification: Length 45-57 mm for males and 55-67 for females. Cone prominent and slender, black beneath; side of pronotum with a deep almost right-angle notch at rear. Stridulatory vein thick and with pronounced subsidiary veins; first 10-15 teeth at lateral end of stridulatory file not conspicuously more widely spaced than subsequent teeth.
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Habitat: Bogs and freshwater marshes.
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Season: Aug.–Oct.
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Song: A high-pitched, smooth, continuous buzz produced in afternoon as well as evening.
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Similar species: Neoconocephalus nebrascensis is not restricted to bogs and marshes; on the side, its pronotum has a shallow, obtuse notch at rear; and the first 10-15 teeth at lateral end of stridulatory file are conspicuously more widely spaced than the remaining teeth. Neoconocephalus melanorhinus occurs on tidal flats and its cone is more robust. Neoconocephalus ensiger has a cone that is less than half black beneath and a stridulatory vein that is thin and long.
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Remarks: The species most closely related to N. lyristes is N. pahayokee, a species that is geographically more than 800 miles distant. Neoconcephalus lyristes itself has a noteworthy geographical separation: Midwest populations are separated by nearly 400 miles from Atlantic Coast populations. The intervening habitat is presently unsuitable, but at the end of the last glacial period a corridor of suitable habitat is believed to have connected the two regions via the Hudson and Mohawk valleys. A variety of plants and animals exploited the corridor and now show disjunct distributions comparable to that of the N. lyristes (for example, Orchelimum volantum). The Atlantic coast populations of N. lyristes exceed those of the Midwest in average body length and in cone length.
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More information: subfamily Copiphorinae, genus Neoconocephalus
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References: Thomas 1933.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/204a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref174 Neoconocephalus maxillosus text Neoconocephalus maxillosus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Caribbean Conehead (Neoconocephalus maxillosus) "
Identification: A south Florida conehead with a black-tipped cone slightly longer than wide and 0 or 1 spine on the anterior ventral carina of the middle femur. Length 47-62 mm.
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Habitat: Roadsides and fallow fields.
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Season: Sept.–Dec. (at least)
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Song: Medium-loud, continuous buzz.
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Similar Species: Neoconocephalus affinis has the anterior ventral carina of middle femur with 3 or 4 spines.
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Remarks: This species is found throughout the West Indies and apparently in Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. It was only recently discovered in Florida, where it occurs in agricultural areas (Walker and Whitesell 1978). These facts suggest that it is, like the Jamaican field cricket, a recent addition to the Florida fauna.
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More information: subfamily Copiphorinae, genus Neoconocephalus
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References: Walker & Whitesell 1978.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/207a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref175 Neoconocephalus melanorhinus text Neoconocephalus melanorhinus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Black-nosed Conehead (Neoconocephalus melanorhinus) "
Identification: Found only on tidal flats. Cone robust, its lower surface largely black. Side of pronotum with an almost right-angle notch at rear. Length 41-54 mm in New Jersey, 51-65 mm in Florida.
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Habitat: Atlantic and Gulf tidal flats dominated by grasses (Spartina spp., Distichlis spp.) or black reeds (Juncus spp.).
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Season: July–Sept.
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Song: A high-pitched continuous buzz.
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Similar Species: Neoconocephalus lyristes has a more slender cone and is not on tidal flats. Neoconocephalus nebrascensis has the side of the pronotum with an obtuse notch at the rear and is not on tidal flats. Neoconocephalus ensiger has the black concentrated at edges of ventral surface of cone and is not on tidal flats.
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Remarks: The distribution in Florida is disjunct because mangroves occupy what would otherwise be tidal flats in south Florida.
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Individuals from Florida are conspicuously larger than those from New Jersey and occur principally in the black-reed marshes (Juncus romerianus) rather than in the adjacent salt meadow-grass marshes (Spartina alterniflora). In New Jersey black-reed marshes do not occur and the black-nosed conehead is abundant in salt meadow-grass marshes.
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More information: subfamily Copiphorinae, genus Neoconocephalus
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/187a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Neoconocephalus nebrascensis text Neoconocephalus nebrascensis http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Nebraska Conehead (Neoconocephalus nebrascensis) "
Identification: A small conehead with a prominent cone that is largely black on its lower surface. Side of pronotum with shallow, obtuse notch at rear. First 10-15 teeth at lateral end of stridulatory file conspicuously more widely spaced than remaining teeth. Length 44-56 mm.
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Habitat: Grassy, weedy, and brushy fields and roadsides. Often sings from shrubby trees.
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Season: July–Sept.
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Song: A loud buzz lasting longer than 1 sec. repeated every 2 sec. Neighboring individuals partially synchronize their buzzes. All complete a buzz before a new buzz begins, but synchronizing individuals do not begin their buzzes simultaneously.
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Similar species: Neoconocephalus lyristes has the side of the pronotum with a deeper, almost right-angle notch at rear; the first 10–15 teeth at the lateral end of the stridulatory file are not conspicuously more widely spaced than subsequent teeth. Neoconocephalus melanorhinus occurs on tidal flats; pronotum and file are more like N. lyristes. Neoconocephalus ensiger has a thin, long stridulatory vein and its cone has the black beneath more nearly confined to the edges.
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More information: subfamily Copiphorinae, genus Neoconocephalus
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References: Meixner & Shaw 1979, 1986.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/196a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref176;Ref177 Neoconocephalus pahayokee text Neoconocephalus pahayokee http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Everglades Conehead (Neoconocephalus pahayokee) "
Identification: A south Florida conehead that is long and slender, with a cone to match. Length 54-60 mm for males, 62-68 for females.
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Habitat: Sawgrass everglades.
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Season: Spring generation, Apr.–June; Fall generation, Sept.–Oct.
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Song: A penetrating, high-pitched, continuous buzz. Three similar songs may be heard in south Florida: Neoconocephalus palustris (softer) and N. velox and N. maxillosus (other habitats).
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Similar Species: No morphologically similar species occurs in south Florida.
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More information: subfamily Copiphorinae, genus Neoconocephalus
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Reference: Walker & Whitesell 1978.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/188a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref178 Neoconocephalus palustris text Neoconocephalus palustris http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Marsh Conehead (Neoconocephalus palustris) "
Identification: A small-to-medium, secretive conehead with a slightly pinched cone that is immaculate beneath. Lower margins of hind femur darker near bases of spines. Ovipositor shorter than hind femur. Length 37-46 mm for males, 40-62 for females.
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Habitat: Dense grass and herbaceous vegetation in wet places.
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Season: Aug.–Sept. (north), July–Oct. (south); N. Fla. seasonal data on SINA.
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Song: A smooth, high-pitched buzz.
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Similar species: Neoconocephalus velox is longer; occurs earlier in the year; and its cone, in profile view, is straight beneath; lower margins of hind femur not darker near bases of spines. Neoconocephalus robustus and Neoconocephalus bivocatus are larger and have ovipositors that are as long as or longer than the hind femur.
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More information: subfamily Copiphorinae, genus Neoconocephalus
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/186a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Neoconocephalus retusus text Neoconocephalus retusus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Round-tipped Conehead (Neoconocephalus retusus) "
Identification: A small conehead (length 37-52 mm) with a cone scarcely longer than wide. Wings extend less than 11 mm beyond hind femurs. Ovipositor slender and 30-40 mm long, much longer than hind femur.
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Habitat: Dry to fairly wet grassy or weedy open areas-roadsides, old fields, edges of marshes.
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Season: Aug.–Oct. The last Neoconocephalus to begin calling each summer; N. Fla. seasonal data on SINA.
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Song: A rather weak, beady, continuous buzz heard from within tangles of vegetation, during afternoons as well as at night.
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Similar species: Neoconocephalus triops has a wider cone; its wings extend more than 11 mm beyond the hind femurs; its ovipositor is shorter, and it sings earlier in the year.
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More information: subfamily Copiphorinae, genus Neoconocephalus
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/193a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Neoconocephalus robustus text Neoconocephalus robustus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Robust Conehead (Neoconocephalus robustus) "
Identification: Large (length 53-74 mm). Cone immaculate beneath or with transverse black mark near tip. Ovipositor 1.0-1.1 times length of hind femur. Width of stridulatory area greater than 4.9 mm. Male pronotal length less than 1.8 times rear width.
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Habitat: Tall, rank vegetation such as moist upland prairies, cornfields, wet areas behind coastal dunes, and the edges of saltmarshes.
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Season: July–Sept; N. Fla. seasonal data on SINA.
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Song: A very loud continuous buzz that can be heard under favorable conditions at least 500 m away. At a distance it has a whining quality, while up close it is dominated by an intense, low-pitched hum.
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Similar species: Neoconocephalus bivocatus has the ovipositor more than 1.2 times length of hind femur; width of stridulatory area less than 4.9 mm. Neoconocephalus velox matures earlier in the year and has the ovipositor shorter than the hind femur; male pronotal length greater than 1.8 times rear width. Neoconocephalus palustris is smaller and its ovipositor is shorter than its hind femur.
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Remarks: The apparently disjunct California population is of unknown origin. Neoconocephalus robustus is a strong flier, as is N. triops, the other conehead that occurs in California. During calling, the thorax of N. robustus is as much as 27º F (15º C) above the ambient temperature (Heath and Josephson 1970). Differences in ambient temperature influence its wingstroke rate, but less so than in other katydids.
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More information: subfamily Copiphorinae, genus Neoconocephalus
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References: Nutting 1953, Walker et al. 1974, Deily and Schul 2004.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/195a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref168;Ref179;Ref180 Neoconocephalus triops text Neoconocephalus triops http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Broad-tipped Conehead (Neoconocephalus triops) "
Identification: No other conehead has a cone that is wider than long. Forewings extending more than 11 mm beyond hind femora; ovipositor about as long as hind femur. Length 43-60 mm for males, 51-67 for females.
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Habitat: Calling males are ubiquitous vertically (ground level to tree tops) as well as horizontally. Both sexes are strong fliers and come to lights. Juveniles and feeding adults occur in grassy areas; overwintering adults occur in thickets and woods.
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Season: This and Pyrgocorypha uncinata are the only coneheads that spend the winter as reproductively inactive adults. In the one generation area (northern part of the range), adults mature in fall and sing Apr.–June. In the two-generation area, adults occur at all times except early summer and sing Feb.–May and July–Aug. In south Florida, adults occur and sing year-round; N. Fla. seasonal data on SINA.
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Song: There are two types of calling: (1) The summer song is produced by males that have not been dormant. Such males occur in areas with more than one generation each year . Their song is a buzz momentarily and regularly broken about once per second; it is easily distinguished from all other insect songs. (2) The spring song is produced by males that have overwintered. Such males occur in spring throughout the range of the broad-tipped conehead. The spring song begins like the summer song but soon shifts to a continuous buzz. It is made at a season when no other coneheads are buzzing continuously, except in south Florida, where the spring generation of N. pahayokee is doing so.
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Similar species: Neoconocephalus retusus has a cone that is longer than wide and the wings extend less than 11 mm beyond the hind femora; the ovipositor is longer than 30 mm.
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Remarks: This species is common throughout the Caribbean, where it produces only the summer song.
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The spring and summer songs differ not only in phrasing but also in wingstroke rate (Whitesell and Walker 1978). In no other species of katydid or cricket does an individual's past history affect its wingstroke rate or its phrasing. No physiological or evolutionary explanation is evident.
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In the area where summer singing occurs, the summer adult population represents only a partial generation: some of the progeny of spring adults do not mature until fall and do not sing until spring. Hence each spring-adult population consists of progeny and grand progeny of the previous spring-adult population. Each summer-adult population consists only of progeny of the previous spring-adult population. The size of the summer-adult population relative to that of the spring-adult population increases southward (Whitesell 1974).
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Most summer males and females are green (>80%). Most overwintering males are brown (>95%), but most overwintering females are green (>65%). Assuming that green has the advantage in concealment in the summer and brown in the winter, how does one account for such a high frequency of green overwintering females? J. J. Whitesell and others have noted that the males die, often from tachinid parasites, after a brief period of springtime singing, whereas females continue to live and lay eggs into early summer. More on brown/green color dimorphism can be found here.
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More information: subfamily Copiphorinae, genus Neoconocephalus
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References: Burk 1982, Josephson 1985, Whitesell 1974, Whitesell & Walker 1978.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/191a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref181;Ref182;Ref183;Ref261 Neoconocephalus velox text Neoconocephalus velox http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Swift Conehead (Neoconocephalus velox) "
Identification: A long conehead with a modest cone that is immaculate and straight beneath. Lower margins of hind femur not darker near bases of spines. Male pronotal length greater than 1.8 times rear width; ovipositor shorter than hind femur. Length 52-61 mm for males, 62-67 for females.
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Habitat: Undergrowth of pine and hardwood forests.
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Season: First egg-overwintering conehead to sing in the summer: June–July; N. Fla. seasonal data on SINA.
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Song: A piercing, continuous buzz.
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Similar Species: Neoconocephalus palustris is smaller and matures later in the year; in profile, its cone is concave beneath; lower margins of hind femur darker near bases of spines. In N. robustus and N. bivocatus the length of the male pronotum is less than 1.8 times its rear width. the ovipositor is as long as or longer than hind femur, and adults occur later in the year.
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More information: subfamily Copiphorinae, genus Neoconocephalus
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/198a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Pyrgocorypha uncinata text Pyrgocorypha uncinata http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Hook-faced Conehead (Pyrgocorypha uncinata) "
Identification: Wings extending beyond abdomen; cone ending in a sharp, down-turned point, prominent gap separating cone from face. Length 47-62 mm for Florida specimens; 44-54 mm northward.
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Habitat: Poorly known. Juveniles may feed and develop on grasses. Males sing from trees and from woodland undergrowth.
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Season: Adults mature in late summer or fall and do not become reproductively active until Mar.–May (peninsular Fla.) or Apr.–May (N. Car.). Singing occurs later on the Florida Keys (Apr.–July) than elsewhere, possibly as an adaptation that allows juveniles to avoid the spring dry season; N. Fla. seasonal data on SINA.
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Song: High-pitched ringing hiss modulated momentarily 4-5 times per second.
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Similar species: Neoconocephalus triops is similar in that males call from undergrowth and treetops in the spring, but their songs are unbroken or broken at ca. 1 sec. intervals and their first singing is earlier in the spring.
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Remarks: Brown females and green females occur in approximately equal numbers; males are always brown--a sex-influenced color dimorphism similar to that of overwintering adults of N. triops.
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This and N. triops are the only U.S. coneheads that occur both in the West Indies and in temperate North America. They are also the only ones that produce no overwintering eggs.
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More information: subfamily Copiphorinae
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/201a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Lea floridensis text Lea floridensis http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Florida True Katydid (Lea floridensis) "
Identification: Length 41-49 mm. Length of pronotum greater than rear width; side of pronotum wider than deep.
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Habitat: Palmettos, scrubby oaks, and vine-covered undergrowth.
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Season: June–September; N. Fla. seasonal data on SINA.
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Song at 25°C: A loud, hollow chlonk repeated at 2–3 sec. intervals. The 2–3 pulses in each phrase are at a rate of 20/sec and cannot be easily distinguished.
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Similar species: Pterophylla camellifolia has the side of the pronotum deeper than wide and calls from the crowns of trees with 3- to 5-pulse phrases in which the pulses are easily distinguished.
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Remarks: This species occurs in two color phases--pinkish-brown and green. The pinkish-brown phase is more prevalent in females (30%) than in males (10%). Unlike Paracyrtophyllus robustus, the only other U.S. species of true katydid known to have a pinkish form, those of Lea floridensis are not associated with outbreak populations. There is little doubt that the Florida true katydid originated in Florida and from northern stock. Its relatives in the West Indies are not as similar in morphology or ecology nor are they as close geographically.
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H. F. Strohecker (1939) reported that caged individuals of this species ate leaves of dwarf oak and green berries and pedicels, but not leaves, of cabbage palmetto.
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More information: subfamily Pseudophyllinae
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References: Hebard 1939, Hebard 1941, Strohecker 1939
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/131a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref215;Ref216;Ref75 Lea text Lea http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Florida True Katydid (Lea floridensis) "
Identification: Length 41-49 mm. Length of pronotum greater than rear width; side of pronotum wider than deep.
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Habitat: Palmettos, scrubby oaks, and vine-covered undergrowth.
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Season: June–September; N. Fla. seasonal data on SINA.
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Song at 25°C: A loud, hollow chlonk repeated at 2–3 sec. intervals. The 2–3 pulses in each phrase are at a rate of 20/sec and cannot be easily distinguished.
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Similar species: Pterophylla camellifolia has the side of the pronotum deeper than wide and calls from the crowns of trees with 3- to 5-pulse phrases in which the pulses are easily distinguished.
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Remarks: This species occurs in two color phases--pinkish-brown and green. The pinkish-brown phase is more prevalent in females (30%) than in males (10%). Unlike Paracyrtophyllus robustus, the only other U.S. species of true katydid known to have a pinkish form, those of Lea floridensis are not associated with outbreak populations. There is little doubt that the Florida true katydid originated in Florida and from northern stock. Its relatives in the West Indies are not as similar in morphology or ecology nor are they as close geographically.
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H. F. Strohecker (1939) reported that caged individuals of this species ate leaves of dwarf oak and green berries and pedicels, but not leaves, of cabbage palmetto.
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More information: subfamily Pseudophyllinae
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References: Hebard 1939, Hebard 1941, Strohecker 1939
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/131a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref215;Ref216;Ref75 Paracyrtophyllus excelsus text Paracyrtophyllus excelsus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Chisos Katydid (Paracyrtophyllus excelsus) "
Identification: Length 35-44 mm. Forewings similar in shape to those of common true katydid; males have no knob on third abdominal tergite.
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Habitat: Oak woodland.
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Season: July to Oct.
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Song at 25°C: A raucous wonk produced at a rate of about 1 per s.
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Similar species: Paracyrtophyllus robustus has truncated forewings and males that have a large stout erect knob on the third abdominal tergite.
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More information: subfamily Pseudophyllinae, genus Paracyrtophyllus
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References: Rehn and Hebard 1914, Hebard 1941.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/151a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref217;Ref216 Paracyrtophyllus robustus text Paracyrtophyllus robustus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Truncated True Katydid (Paracyrtophyllus robustus) "
Identification: Length 33-42 mm. Forewings are broad near the tips and short; males have a large stout erect knob on the third abdominal tergite.
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Habitat: Oak woodland.
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Season: June to September.
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Song at 25°C: A many-pulsed raucous chirp lasting about one-third second repeated at ca 2 s intervals. Pulses come too fast to count.
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Similar species: Pterophylla camellifolia and Paracyrtophyllus excelsus have forewings that are not truncated and males that have no erect knob on the third abdominal tergite.
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Remarks: North American pseudophylline katydids are often numerous, as evidenced by their nighttime choruses; however, specimens are not easy to collect and they do not defoliate the trees they live in. An outbreak of P. robustus in 2001 in Lee County, Texas, is an exception to these last two generalizations. John Oswald, of Texas A&M University, contributed this description:
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After receiving a report of patches of trees being defoliated by grasshoppers along Texas highway 21 between Lincoln and Old Dime Box, Texas, Ed Riley and I went to take a look at the site and to get some specimens for the Texas A&M University Insect Collection. We observed several areas of almost totally defoliated post oak trees (Quercus stellata) in localized patches of up to tens of acres. Many of the trees were stripped entirely bare of leaves. The defoliator turned out to be Paracyrtophyllus robustus. When we visited the site on 14 July 2001 the population was in decline and the ground under areas of defoliated canopy was littered with the dead bodies of thousands of individuals. We spoke with one rancher whose property contained some defoliated forest. He said that the numbers were much higher several weeks ago. The blow-up must have started considerably earlier, perhaps in May or June. The rancher, who had been living in the same house for 30 years, said that he had never noticed the species before, and had certainly never had such an outbreak before on his property. Interestingly, the species appeared to be feeding almost exclusively on the post oaks. There were also many elms(Ulmus alata and/or U. crassifolia) mixed in the forest, but they were still green with leaves. There were still quite a few living specimens hanging around (with apparently a larger percentage of females, many of the males having already died) and we collected approximately 100 specimens for the collection, but could have collected hundreds more with little difficulty. All specimens observed were reddish-brown.
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In northern Mexico a related pseudophylline, Pterophylla beltrani, is a major forest pest (Hollander and Barrientos 1994). Isolated individuals are always green, whereas outbreak individuals are always pink (Barrientos and Hollander 1994).
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More information: subfamily Pseudophyllinae, genus Paracyrtophyllus
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References: Hebard 1941.
\n\n" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/152a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref218;Ref219;Ref216 Pterophylla camellifolia text Pterophylla camellifolia http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Common True Katydid (Pterophylla camellifolia) "
Identification: Length 39-50 mm. A leaf-green, deliberate-moving katydid--as befits a near-flightless species living in treetops. Length of pronotum approximately equal to its rear width; side of pronotum deeper than wide.
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Habitat: Crowns of deciduous trees in forests, woodlots, and yards.
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Season: June (Fla.) or July (N. Car., Ill.) to October; N. Fla. seasonal data on SINA.
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Song: The onomatopoeic rendition of the songs of northern populations of this speceis (ka-ty-did) is the source of the most widely applied common name for all members of the family Tettigoniidae. However, the songs of this species vary from locality to locality more than in any other katydid (see maps). In most cases, the song is a regular repetition of a multi-pulse phrase at about 1 sec. intervals. Neighboring individuals often alternate their phrases with the combined tempo being noticeably quicker than that of a solitary singer. In northern populations the pulse rate within each phrase is slow (ca. 8 per sec.), and the most frequent numbers of pulses per phrase are three and two. This permits the song to be rendered ""Ka-ty-did, she-didn't, she-did."" Alternating individuals sound as though they are arguing about whether Katy did or didn't. The southeastern populations, instead of drawling as might seem appropriate, quicken their pulse rate to about 12 per sec. and increase the number of pulses per phrase to three, four, or five. The phrase rate remains about the same. In the southwestern portion of its range, the common true katydid sings mostly one- and two-pulse phrases. Finally, populations in a narrow north-south band through central Iowa differ from populations to the east and west in having 8-15 pulses per phrase (instead of 2 or 3). The pulse rate remains the same (ca. 8 per sec.).
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Similar species: Lea floridensis occurs in palmettos, scrubby vegetation, or undergrowth; side of pronotum is wider than deep; the pulses in its song are produced at a rate so fast as to make them difficult to distinguish.
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Remarks: Common true katydids vary geographically not only in song but also in structure of the male cerci and subgenital plate. Treating all variants as populations of a single species accords with the observation that individuals of intermediate characteristics occur where populations of contrasting types come in contact. Such individuals are evidence of matings and gene flow between populations. The best studied contact zone is between northern and southeastern song types along the Appalachian Mountains. R. D. Alexander and K. C. Shaw drove back and forth across the zone at night listening to hundreds of thousands of individuals and tape recording hundreds (Alexander 1968). Sometimes the two song types were kept apart by natural or manmade ecological barriers, but when they came in contact there was generally a zone of intermediates varying in width ""from a few yards to more than a hundred miles.""
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More information: subfamily Pseudophyllinae
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References: Balsbaugh 1988; North & Shaw 1979; Shaw 1968, 1975; Shaw & Carlson 1969; Weissmann & Leatherman 1992.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/141a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref220;Ref221;Ref222;Ref223;Ref224;Ref225 Anabrus simplex text Anabrus simplex http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://www.eol.org/voc/table_of_contents#Notes Mormon Cricket (Anabrus simplex) "
References: Defoliart et al. 1982; Finke et al. 1985; Gwynne 1981, 1984, 1993; La Rivers 1944; Lorch & Gwynne 2000; MacVean 1987; Redak et al. 1992; Tyus & Minckley 1988.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/269a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref226;Ref227;Ref228;Ref229;Ref230;Ref231;Ref232;Ref233;Ref234;Ref235 Hubbellia marginifera text Hubbellia marginifera http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Pine Katydid (Hubbellia marginifera) "
Identification: Length 33-37 mm. Camouflaged for life among pine needles--wings green with thin longitudinal light stripe and white margins. Brown dorsal stripe extending from top of head to near tips of forewings, including male stridulatory area.
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Habitat: Tops of pines of species having medium to long needles (e.g. loblolly, slash, longleaf).
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Season: June-Oct; N. Fla. seasonal data on SINA.
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Song at 25°C: High-pitched clicks repeated indefinitely at ca. 1.5 sec intervals. Only at night. Similar to the call of the carinate katydid (Amblycorpha carinata) but higher pitched, ""thinner,"" and issuing from the crowns of pine trees.
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Similar species: The larger meadow katydids (Orchelimum) are similar in form and color but lack the white margins on the wings. The only species that lives in pine trees is smaller (length less than 27 mm).
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Remarks: This species is among the most rarely seen of our native katydids. Prior to 1940 it was known from two specimens and no more than 40 have been collected since. Nevertheless it is widespread in most of the southeastern United States and hundreds can be heard in an evening by driving through pinewoods. The problem is that individuals seldom occur closer to the ground than 20 feet. They usually are much higher and in trees that have the first limbs above 30 feet. Those seeking specimens should first learn the song and then search for individuals calling from low, easy-to-climb trees. Once spotted with a light, specimens are usually not difficult to collect--if they can be reached. At least they don't fly away! (They apparently can fly but don't do so when pursued.) The few females that have been collected have ovipositors 25-33 mm long. Where they deposit their eggs is unknown. A European relative with a similar ovipositor is said to lay its eggs in crevices in the soil. Perhaps our species deposits eggs in crevices in the upper limbs or trunk of pine trees.
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References: Hebard 1927, Hubbell 1940, Rehn 1943, Uvarov 1940.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/311a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref241;Ref242;Ref243;Ref244 Hubbellia text Hubbellia http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Pine Katydid (Hubbellia marginifera) "
Identification: Length 33-37 mm. Camouflaged for life among pine needles--wings green with thin longitudinal light stripe and white margins. Brown dorsal stripe extending from top of head to near tips of forewings, including male stridulatory area.
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Habitat: Tops of pines of species having medium to long needles (e.g. loblolly, slash, longleaf).
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Season: June-Oct; N. Fla. seasonal data on SINA.
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Song at 25°C: High-pitched clicks repeated indefinitely at ca. 1.5 sec intervals. Only at night. Similar to the call of the carinate katydid (Amblycorpha carinata) but higher pitched, ""thinner,"" and issuing from the crowns of pine trees.
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Similar species: The larger meadow katydids (Orchelimum) are similar in form and color but lack the white margins on the wings. The only species that lives in pine trees is smaller (length less than 27 mm).
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Remarks: This species is among the most rarely seen of our native katydids. Prior to 1940 it was known from two specimens and no more than 40 have been collected since. Nevertheless it is widespread in most of the southeastern United States and hundreds can be heard in an evening by driving through pinewoods. The problem is that individuals seldom occur closer to the ground than 20 feet. They usually are much higher and in trees that have the first limbs above 30 feet. Those seeking specimens should first learn the song and then search for individuals calling from low, easy-to-climb trees. Once spotted with a light, specimens are usually not difficult to collect--if they can be reached. At least they don't fly away! (They apparently can fly but don't do so when pursued.) The few females that have been collected have ovipositors 25-33 mm long. Where they deposit their eggs is unknown. A European relative with a similar ovipositor is said to lay its eggs in crevices in the soil. Perhaps our species deposits eggs in crevices in the upper limbs or trunk of pine trees.
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References: Hebard 1927, Hubbell 1940, Rehn 1943, Uvarov 1940.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/311a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref241;Ref242;Ref243;Ref244 Neobarrettia spinosa text Neobarrettia spinosa http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Greater Arid-land Katydid (Neobarrettia spinosa) "
Identification: Front edge of pronotum black; femoral teeth black; center of hindwings translucent brown with lighter spots; length of forefemur 13-19 mm. Length 34-45 mm, males; 44-52 mm females.
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Habitat: Oak-juniper, mesquite, bushland, shrubby desert.
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Season: June to October.
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Song at 25°C: A loud resonant phrase repeated continuously at ca. 1/sec., only at night.
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References: Cohn 1965.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/331a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref254 Neobarrettia victoriae text Neobarrettia victoriae http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Lesser Arid-land Katydid (Neobarrettia victoriae) "
Identification: Front edge of pronotum green; femoral teeth bicolored; center of hindwings jet black; length of forefemur 8-12 mm, males, 10-14 mm females. Length 25-32 mm, males; 31-37 mm females.
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Habitat: Mesquite, bushland, shrubby desert.
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Season: Late June to October.
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Song at 25°C: A pulsating phrase repeated continuously at ca. 2/s, mostly at night.
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Reference: Cohn 1965.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/332a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref254 Meconema thalassinum text Meconema thalassinum http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Drumming Katydid (Meconema thalassinum) "
Identification: A tiny katydid with a tympanum fully exposed on each foretibia. Forewings longer than hindwings. No stridulatory area apparent at base of male forewings. Length 14-19 mm.
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Habitat: Deciduous trees and the vegetation beneath.
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Season: July–Oct. One generation per year.
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Song at 25°C: Males call at night by rapidly tapping one of the hind feet on the substrate, such as the surface of a leaf. The pad under the first tarsal segment of the male is hardened while that of the female is soft. The sound varies with the substrate but under favorable conditions it can be heard 12 feet away. A bout of drumming consists of several bursts, the initial ones being brief and the later ones lasting about 1 s. Foot impact frequency is ca. 43/s.
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Similar Species: Meadow katydids (Conocephalinae) have the tympanum visible only through slits in the expanded foretibia; males have conspicuous stridulatory areas on the forewings. False katydids (Phaneropterinae) are larger and the hindwings are often longer than the forewings.
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Remarks: The drumming katydid is native to Europe. It lays its eggs in crevices in bark and may have been imported to the United States as eggs on woody ornamental plants. Whatever the means, by 1957 it had become established on western Long Island, New York, and by 1980 it had extended its range to Rhode Island and to Scarsdale and Ithaca, New York. It has since been reported as far east as Michigan in the northeast U.S. and in several localities in the vicinity of Vancouver on the West Coast.
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No function has been proved for the male's drumming, and either the air-borne or the substrate-transmitted vibrations might be the more important. Stridulation, using minute teeth on the forewings, may also occur. If so, the signal is likely ultrasonic.
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More information: subfamily Meconematinae
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References: See subfamily page on SINA.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/103a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Saga pedo text Saga pedo http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Matriarchal Katydid (Saga pedo) "
Identification: Forelegs adapted for holding prey; rows of strong spines along inside and outside lower edges of femur and tibia. No males; females large and wingless. Known only from Jackson County, Michigan. Length 60–65 mm.
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Habitat: Old fields.
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Season: August and September. Eggs apparently require more than one winter to hatch.
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Similar species: None.
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Remarks: A reasonable hypothesis as to how the matriarchal katydid was brought to Michigan is that one or more of its eggs were in soil adhering to farm equipment returning from plowing contests in Italy. The first Michigan specimen was collected in 1970 and only six have been taken since. Unlike our native katydids and other species of Saga in Europe, the matriarchal katydid is obligatorily parthenogenetic. No males are known from here or from Europe. Even though there is no male calling song, females have prominent tympanal organs on the fore tibiae.
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A caged female captured and avidly ate grasshoppers. She inserted eggs in soil to a depth of about 25 mm.
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More information: subfamily Saginae
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References: Cantrall 1972.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/158a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref260 Conocephalus text Conocephalus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Genus Conocephalus in North America north of Mexico "
If you are uncertain whether Conocephalus is the correct genus for the specimen you wish to identify, these species of Orchelimum may be the source of your confusion:
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Orchelimum minor is small but lives in pine trees.
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Orchelimum militare has a straight ovipositor and is slender.
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Orchelimum concinnum, fidicinium, and unispina are slender.
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Twelve species of Conocephalus usually have short forewings but occasionally produce individuals that have the forewings longer than the abdomen: Conocephalus aigialus, attenuatus, brevipennis, hygrophilus, nemoralis, nigropleuroides, nigropleurum, occidentalis, saltans, spartinae, stictomerus, and strictus. Conocephalus cinereus, fasciatus, gracillimus, and vicinus always have forewings that exceed the abdomen, whereas the few individuals known for Conocephalus allardi, resacensis, and spinosus have short forewings.
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Identification of species
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Most Conocephalus males can be identified by their distinctive cerci. By comparing the dorsal view of the left cercus of a male you wish to identify with a set of illustrations for all the Conocephalus species north of Mexico, you should be able to narrow the species you need to consider to one or a very few.
Females of Conocephalus are often easiest to identify by association with males. However, in some species the ovipositor size and shape is helpful or even distinctive.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/g220a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Orchelimum text Orchelimum http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Genus Orchelimum in North America north of Mexico "
If you are uncertain whether Orchelimum is the correct genus for the specimen you wish to identify, these species of Conocephalus may be the source of your confusion:
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Conocephalus strictus is as long and stout as many Orchelimum, but its ovipositor is much longer than the body and the forewings are nearly always shorter than the abdomen.
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Conocephalus nemoralis has a short, distinctly curved ovipositor, but is brown and the wings are usually shorter than the abdomen.
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Conocephalus cinereus, fasciatus, gracillimus, and vicinus have forewings that are longer than the abdomen. Furthermore, these twelve species of Conocephalus, which usually have short forewings, occasionally produce individuals that have forewings that exceed the abdomen: aigialus, attenuatus, brevipennis, hygrophilus, nemoralis, nigropleuroides, nigropleurum, occidentalis, saltans, spartinae, stictomerus, and strictus.
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Identification of species
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Most Orchelimum males can be identified by their distinctive cerci. By comparing the dorsal view of the left cercus of a male you wish to identify with illustrations of all the species north of Mexico, you should be able to narrow the species you need to consider to one or a very few.
The stridulatory areas of males are of some help in species identification, but they are more variable within a species than are the male cerci.
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Females of Orchelimum are often easiest to identify by association with males. However, in some species the ovipositor shape is helpful or even distinctive.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/g248a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Neoconocephalus text Neoconocephalus http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Genus Neoconocephalus in North America north of Mexico "
Common coneheads (Neoconocephalus) have wings that extend beyond the abdomen; the cone is separated from the face by a prominent gap and never ends in a sharp point. Length 37-74 mm.
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Identification of species
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Most species in this genus have distinctive cones. By comparing the ventral view of the cone of the specimen you wish to identify with illustrations for all the species north of Mexico, you should be able to eliminate all but a few species from further consideration.
Seasonal life histories
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All species of Neoconocephalus except N. triops and N. payhayokee have one generation per year. All except N. triops overwinter as eggs. N. triops overwinter as adults and have a single generation in the northern extremes of the range and two and perhaps three generations each year farther south. N. payhayokee has spring and fall generations of adults.
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Food
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Adults feed nearly exclusively on the seeds of grasses; juveniles apparently feed on grass flowers and developing seeds. Other foods--such as sedge fruits, grass leaves, and living insects--have been noted occasionally.
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Singing Behavior
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Calling is chiefly at night. Only N. retusus commonly sings in the afternoon as well. Some species sing within tangles of dense vegetation near the ground; many climb to near the top of the ground cover. N. triops frequently sings from the tops of tall trees. When disturbed, singing males fly, run, or drop.
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Remarks
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When males of common coneheads are captured and held in cages, they frequently prove to be parasitized internally by maggots of tachinid flies known to locate their hosts by their calling songs (Burk 1982). The fly larvae emerge from the conehead within a few days after capture, and the conehead dies. The larvae make hard, brown puparia that yield yellowish adult flies in about two weeks. In keeping with how the flies find their hosts, mainly males are parasitized.
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Common coneheads and their Old World counterparts (formerly Homorocoryphus, now Ruspolia) have been used as experimental animals by biologists investigating mechanisms of hearing, mechanisms of sound production, species specificity of phonotaxis, muscle physiology, body temperature, and effects of temperature on wingstroke rate.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/g185a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref181 Scudderia text Scudderia http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Genus Scudderia in North America north of Mexico "
Identification of species
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Males of most species in this genus can be identified on the basis of their distinctive dorsal process, a rearward dorsal extension of the last abdominal segment.
Females are difficult to identify, but the ovipositors differ enough among the species to be of some help.
Oviposition
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Scudderia eggs are extraordinarily thin and flat --as befits the fact that the female inserts them between the upper and lower epidermal layers of leaves! The female's oviposition technique is easily observed. Deprive a fertilized female of suitable oviposition sites for a day or so and then transfer her to the leaves of most any plant. She will usually begin to lay in a few minutes.
Narrow-beaked katydids (Turpilia rostrata) also lay their eggs in the edges of leaves.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/g060a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Mogoplistinae text Mogoplistinae http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://www.eol.org/voc/table_of_contents#IdentificationResources Subfamily Mogoplistinae in North America north of Mexico "
To identify most North American species of scaly crickets, see Love & Walker (1979).
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/s429a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref263 Oecanthinae text Oecanthinae http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://www.eol.org/voc/table_of_contents#IdentificationResources Subfamily Oecanthinae in North America north of Mexico "
For keys to species, see Walker (1962,1963).
For a beautifully illustrated and informative website devoted to Oecanthinae, go to http://www.oecanthinae.com. This site, created by Nancy Collins (an energetic oecanthine enthusiast), is organized into more than 20 sections and has impressive still photos and videos.
" http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/s576a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref98;Ref104 Pentacentrinae text Pentacentrinae http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#TaxonBiology Subfamily Pentacentrinae in North America north of Mexico "
This subfamily, which is small and largely tropical, is represented in the United States by a single species, Trigonidomimus belfragei. There are four other species in the genus, but none of these occurs north of Panama. " http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/s401a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Trigonidiinae text Trigonidiinae http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text text/html http://www.eol.org/voc/table_of_contents#IdentificationResources Subfamily Trigonidiinae in North America north of Mexico "
In North America north of Mexico, if the trig you wish to identify is pale green, it belongs to the genus Cyrtoxipha and can be identified using the key in Walker (1969)." http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/s610a.htm en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thomas J. Walker Ref264