Orchelimum

(The Larger Meadow Katydids)


picture by Jason Hill

 

By

Jason Hill

 

Higher Taxon

 

The genus Orchelimum is a member of the subfamily Conocephaline. Conochephaline is one of the subfamilies that makes up the large family known as Tettigoniidae. This family’s common name is Katydids. There are currently over 5000 species and this number grows every year (Gwynne 1996).

 

Identifying the Orchelimum genus

 

This genus contains medium-sized (more than 18 mm) katydids which are more robust than the other two genera. The Orchelimum are a color of green and have rather large eyes. The antennae are slender and exceed the length of the body. The ovipositor is distinctly curved upwards (Helfer 1963). These Katydids have wings and tegmina (the front hard cover of the wings) which are well developed. These wing characteristics maybe used to distinguish Orchelimum from the two other genera. In the Conocephalus genus, the tegmina are not developed fully and the wings are not as long as the body. In the Odontoxiphidium genus, the wings are usually absent or very short (Bratchley 1920).

 

Species List

 

Scientific name Common name

Orchelimum agile

Agile Meadow Katydid

Orchelimum bulliatum

 

Orchelimum bradleyi

Bradley’s Meadow Katydid

Orchelimum calcaratum

Long-spurred Meadow Katydid

Orchelimum campestris

Dusky-faced Meadow Katydid

Orchelimum concinnum

Stripe-faced Meadow Katydid

Orchelimum delicatum

Delicate Meadow Katydid

Orchelimum erythrocephalum

Red-Headed Meadow Katydid

Orchelimum findicinium

 

Orchelimum gladiator

Gladiator Meadow Katydid

Orchelimum militare

Military Meadow Katydid

Orchelimum minor

Pine tree Meadow Katydid

Orchelimum nigrapes

Black-legged Meadow Katydid

Orchelimum pulchellum

Handsome Meadow Katydid

Orchelimum superbum

Superb Meadow Katydid

Orchelimum volantum

Nimble Meadow Katydid

Orchelimum vulgare

Common Meadow Katydid

 

 

Identification Guide

 

To distinguish all the different species from one another refer to these helpful guides:

 

W.S. Blatchley’s Orthoptera of Northeastern America contains invaluable information on the Orchelimun genus. The Nature Publishing Company published it in 1920, refer to pages 533-562.

 

Vincent G. Dethier’s Cricket & Katydids, Concerts and Solos has a less complex key and covers most of the common species. Published by Harvard University Press in 1992, refer to pages 128-136.

 

Jacques R. Helfer’s The Grasshopper, Cockroaches and their Allies serves as a good overall guide to distinguish families. It was published by WM. C. Brown Company in 1963.

 

General Information

 

Orchelimum is Greek for "I dance in the meadows" (Dethier, 1992). These katydids are commonly found making music in prairies and meadows throughout the summertime. Therefore, unlike some katydid species, the Orchelimum are not destructive to agriculture. It has been observed that members of this genus change their tunes from day to night and that a cloud passing overhead is enough to trigger the same response (Scudder 1868). The Orchelimum blend in well with the grasslands, which provide a place to hide from birds and a safe breeding ground. Their eggs are deposited between the stems and root leaves of grass (Bradley 1920). Katydids have an incomplete metamorphous (egg-nymph-adult). This means that they undergo a series of molts to reach adulthood. Nymphs look like smaller versions of the adults, but they are sexually immature (Pratt and Kent 1990).

 

Links to Other Interesting Web Sites

 

Orthopterists' Society Home Page

Orthoptera Page at University of Toronto

Entomology Home Page at Iowa State

 

References