Songs of Insects

Black-legged Meadow Katydid (Orchelimum nigripes)

 
 
One of the prettiest members of its genus, the Black-legged Meadow Katydid sports a splendid combination of colors, with a blue-green body, red eyes, pale face, black legs, and bright yellow cerci. Favors grassy areas along the edges of wetlands, and also cattail marshes. Males sing from grasses and weeds and from the lower branches of associated shrubs and trees. Closely related to the Handsome Meadow Katydid, but the Black-legged is found primarily west of the Appalachian Mountains.
 

Black-legged Meadow Katydid

Left cercus from above.

Black-legged Meadow Katydids can be found in the central US with a small population along the Potomac River from Shepherdstown, WV to Washington, D.C.
Song: Several ticks followed by a loud, harsh buzz or trill at 10–20 kHz. Easy to hear. Sometimes ticks are given in an irregular series, without trills. Sings both day and night.
 
 
Sonogram of a Black-legged Meadow Katydid. © Wil Hershberger.