Forbes' Tree Cricket
Oecanthus forbesi
Identification 6
Tree Crickets (Oecanthus spp.) can be difficult to identify to species. A photo of the front base of the antenna is the best starting place for identification. Forbes Tree Cricket can be entirely green to very dark with dark legs, but they always have dark markings on the underside of their abdomen. Males usually have a dark dorsal stripe on the head and pronotum. Dark Tree Crickets in Iowa are always Forbes' Tree Cricket. For entirely green individuals a picture of the antennal bases and underside of the abdomen is needed to distinguish it from similar species.
Oecanthus nigricornis is visually indistinguishable from O. forbesi (they can be distinguished by song recordings and concurrent temperature measurements), but recent field work by Oecanthus enthusiasts and researchers has found that O. nigricornis only occurs from Ohio east (Nancy Collins, pers. comm., also see BugGuide). Dark Oecanthus in Iowa are always O. forbesi.
Resources 6
SINA illustrations of antenna bases: https://orthsoc.org/sina/g576a.htm.
SINA species page: https://orthsoc.org/sina/594a.htm
Also click through to http://www.oecanthinae.com/ website. Nancy Collins is currently active on iNaturalist and may help with identification.
Occurrence 6
Statewide. The SINA map does not cover all of Iowa, but iNaturalist observations indicate that it probably occurs throughout the state.
Habitat 6
Typically occurs in tall vegetation or shrubs, not higher in trees.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Scott King, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), https://www.flickr.com/photos/minnesotameadowhawk/37348280860/
- (c) Erin Faulkner, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Erin Faulkner
- (c) Jim Wolf, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Jim Wolf
- (c) Peter Chen 2.0, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Peter Chen 2.0
- (c) Jeffrey G. Cramer, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Jeffrey G. Cramer
- (c) Tyler Grant, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
