Songs of Insects

Dusky-faced Meadow Katydid (Orchelimum campestre)

Dusky-faced Meadow Katydids are named for their pale yellowish to cream faces that are variably decorated with small brown spots – as if sprinkled with cinnamon. Some individuals can have rather dark faces with extensive markings along the back edge of the head. The body is light-green with dark brown marking on the upper side of the abdomen, bright-yellow underneath, and brown wings laced with green veins – a very handsome combination. Dusky-faced Meadow Katydids can be found from early August to late September, prefering habitats near wetlands where they are active both day and night high in the vegetation.
 

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This species can be found from extreme western New York and Pennsylvania south through Tennessee, west to eastern Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma, south to extreme northern Texas. The range includes Arkansas and central Louisiana.

Left cercus of Dusky-faced Meadow Katydid

Song: The song of Dusky-faced Meadow Katydids can be heard day and night and is composed of long series of lisping double-noted pulses that can drone on for many seconds to a few minutes. These lisping buzzes are often separated by evenly spaced ticks, of varying numbers, that can precede or follow the buzzing. The major frequency of the song is from 15.7-17.7 kHz. However, the song spans from 5 kHz all the way to 38 kHz. The low-frequency content and the double-noted pulses give the song a low-pitched quality.

Sonagram of Dusky-faced Meadow Katydid song. Two songs are shown.