Songs of Insects

Straight-lanced Meadow Katydid (Conocephalus strictus)

Song of a Straight-lanced Meadow Katydid (scroll down for explanation and additional recordings!).

Named for the shape of the female’s ovipositor (not pictured), the Straight-lanced Meadow Katydid is large, long-bodied, and dark in color compared to other small meadow katydids. May occur in large numbers, but distribution is patchy within its range. The preferred habitat is open areas of short grass along roadsides and in pastures. Males have the peculiar ability to bend their bodies at odd angles. It is interesting to watch their interactions and movements — they are the contortionists of the katydid world.

Left cercus from above.

Straight-lanced Meadow Katydid

Straight-lanced Meadow Katydids range from southern New York to southern Georgia and west from central Arizona north to southern Montana.

Song: A faint, continuous purr at 10–20 kHz, often with a pulsating quality. Difficult to hear, but in a dense colony, the combined sounds of individuals in a chorus can be impressively loud, even overwhelming.
 
 
Sonogram of a Straight-lanced Meadow Katydid. © Wil Hershberger.