Nebraska Conehead (Neoconocephalus nebrascensis)
Song of a Nebraska Conehead (scroll down for explanation and additional recordings!).
The Nebraska Conehead is perhaps not very well named. Yes, it is found in Nebraska, but its range is much broader, extending southward to Mississippi and eastward to Maryland. It occurs in both green and brown forms. Identified by its compact body structure, a broad head cone that is completely black when viewed from below, and wings that are unmarked or else lightly speckled with dark spots. Found hanging head down more often than not, an individual is prepared to execute its escape strategy — falling headfirst into the grass litter, where it will remain motionless to avoid detection. If further disturbed it will scurry away, work its way up a grass stem, and then fly away. Nebraska Coneheads are found along roadsides, in coarse weeds at the edge of fields and woods, and in brushy ground cover in open woods.
Song: A series of shrill buzzes pitched at around 10 kHz, each lasting about 1.5–2 seconds, with pauses of about one second between: zeeeee . . . zeeeee . . . zeeeee . . . Loud and piercing, song is at once annoying but intriguing. Singing goes on continuously unless the male is disturbed. Neighboring males often synchronize their buzzes, with individuals starting at slightly different times but always stopping at exactly the same instant, thereby accentuating the pauses between songs.
Sonogram of a Nebraska Conehead. © Wil Hershberger.
Nebraska Conehead
Our Insect Musicians:
Thumbnail Guide to All Species
Navigate to Species Pages:
Spring and Fall Field Cricket
Southern Wood Cricket
Southeastern Field Cricket
Eastern Striped Cricket
Japanese Burrowing Cricket
Ground Crickets (Nemobiinae):
Allard’s Ground Cricket
Carolina Ground Cricket
Confused Ground Cricket
Striped Ground Cricket
Southern Ground Cricket
Sphagnum Ground Cricket
Variegated Ground Cricket
Spotted Ground Cricket
Tinkling Ground Cricket
Cuban Ground Cricket
Tree Crickets (Oecanthinae):
Black-horned Tree Cricket
Forbes’s Tree Cricket
Broad-winged Tree Cricket
Davis’s Tree Cricket
Fast-calling Tree Cricket
Four-spotted Tree Cricket
Narrow-winged Tree Cricket
Pine Tree Cricket
Snowy Tree Cricket
Two-spotted Tree Cricket
Trigs and Bush Crickets (Eneopterinae & Trigonidiinae):
Jumping Bush Cricket
Columbian Trig
Handsome Trig
Say’s Trig
Thomas’s Trig
Slow-tinkling Trig
Mole Crickets (Gryllotalpidae):
Northern Mole Cricket
Southern Mole Cricket
FAMILY DESCRIPTION
Saltmarsh Meadow Katydid
Short-winged Meadow Katydid
Slender Meadow Katydid
Woodland Meadow Katydid
Black-sided Meadow Katydid
Long-tailed Meadow Katydid
Straight-lanced Meadow Katydid
Agile Meadow Katydid
Dusky-faced Meadow Katydid
Stripe-faced Meadow Katydid
Nimble Meadow Katydid
Black-legged Meadow Katydid
Common Meadow Katydid
Gladiator Meadow Katydid
Handsome Meadow Katydid
Lesser Pine Meadow Katydid
Long-spurred Meadow Katydid
Red-headed Meadow Katydid
Coneheads (Copiphorinae):
FAMILY DESCRIPTION
Round-tipped Conehead
Nebraska Conehead
Robust Conehead
Slightly Musical Conehead
Sword-bearing Conehead
False Robust Conehead
Marsh Conehead
Black-nosed Conehead
True Katydids (Pseudophyllinae):
FAMILY DESCRIPTION
Common True Katydid
False Katydids (Phaneropterinae):
FAMILY DESCRIPTION
Clicker Round-winged Katydid
Common Virtuoso Katydid
Rattler Round-winged Katydid
Oblong-winged Katydid
Great Angle-wing
Lesser Angle-wing
Broad-winged Bush Katydid
Curved-tailed Bush Katydid
Fork-tailed Bush Katydid
Northern Bush Katydid
Texas Bush Katydid
Treetop Bush Katydid
Modest Katydid
Shield-backed Katydids (Tettigoniinae):
FAMILY DESCRIPTION
American Shieldback
Least Shieldback
Protean Shieldback
Robust Shieldback
Roesel’s Katydid
Band-winged Grasshoppers (Oedipodinae):
Boll’s & Carolina Grasshoppers
Marsh Meadow Grasshopper