Short-winged Meadow Katydid
Conocephalus brevipennis
Identification 5
Small katydid at 12-16 mm (0.5-0.6 in) body length. Short wings typically do not extend to the end of the abdomen. Female ovipositor is shorter than or approximately equal to the length of the body. Cerci in males have a distinctive shape. The top of the abdomen is typically rusty orange. The ovipositor and cerci are also usually rusty orange.
C. brevipennis is most common among the 7 species of Conocephalus in Iowa, followed closely by C. fasciatus. C. brevipennis is perhaps most similar to C. strictus and C. saltans, but they have shorter wings. C. strictus has longer cerci in males and the female ovipositor is longer than the body. C. saltans has very short wings and is much more rare. Other Concephalus have wings longer than the body (C. fasciatus), black sides (C. nigroplereum and sometimes C. nemoralis), are more brown or red (C. attenuatus), or have different length of ovipositor. Each of these Conocephalus species has their own species account. For this species and any Conocephalus, a good picture of the male cerci or female ovipositor will help a good deal.
C. brevipennis also has a rare long-winged (macropterous) form that be difficult to distinguish from C. fasciatus. Blatchley (1920) reported that in one collection series of 555 C. brevipennis, 3.5% were the long-winged form. The long-formed can be more common in certain populations, however. It is thought that long-winged forms of katydids and crickets help the species disperse to new habitats. Brandon Woo (https://bugguide.net/user/view/42238) did a comparison on BugGuide between long-winged C. brevipennis and C. fasciatus males that is illustrative (see link below). C. fasciatus always have green cerci while C. brevipennis do not. Also, the top of the abdomen is differently colored.
This all sounds complicated, but all Conocephalus with medium length wings are C. brevipennis. The rare exceptions with longer wings area little more complicated.
Blatchley (1920) reported that C. brevipennis reaches adult stage around August 10 in Indiana. Iowa is probably similar.
Conocephalus nymphs (individuals who are not fully grown) are usually very difficult to identify to species.
Resources 5
Cerci and ovipositor shapes at SINA: https://orthsoc.org/sina/g220a.htm
Comparison between long-winged C. brevipennis and C. fasciatus males: https://bugguide.net/node/view/1718760
Blatchley, W. S. 1920. Orthoptera of Northeastern America: With Especial Reference to the Faunas of Indiana and Florida. Nature Publishing Company, Indianapolis, IN. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/1700
Occurrence 5
Statewide. Common. Occurs throughout the eastern U.S.
This species may be more common now than before. Froeschner (1954) reported it from only 7 counties. In comparison, C. fasciatus was reported from 49 counties. It already has ~25 counties with records in iNaturalist.
Habitat 5
In Iowa, seems to occur in almost any herbaceous vegetation, but greener and wetter habitats seem preferred.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Katja Schulz, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/treegrow/39192705065/
- (c) Tyler Grant, all rights reserved, uploaded by Tyler Grant
- (c) Diane P. Brooks, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by Diane P. Brooks
- (c) Lee Elliott, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by Lee Elliott
- (c) Tyler Grant, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
