Orthoptera212 species

Family Katydids (Tettigoniidae)

Tettigoniidae is a family in the order Orthoptera. Browse 212 named species recorded in this family, or open an individual profile for its available identification and natural-history information.

Guides

Katydid Guide

Species in Tettigoniidae (212)

Alpine Shieldback

Acrodectes philopagus

Identification: The unusual black and tan coloration readily serves to distinguish this species The genus Acrodectes is monotypic (i.e. contains a single species). The original description of both the genus and species, written be Hebard & Morgan in

Big Bend Oblong-winged Katydid

Amblycorypha insolita

Identification: Dark diagonal band across stridulatory area is diagnostic for this species (in males)

Rattler Round-winged Katydid

Amblycorypha rotundifolia

Identification: Song is a "high-pitched swishy rattle" ( Songs of Insects )

Long-legged Anabrus

Anabrus longipes

Identification: Simiar to Mormon Cricket, but more restricted area of distribution; legs longer and more slender; in adults lower edge of wings is white and usually shows behind pronotum (may be pale, but rarely if ever white in Mormon Cricket).

Thin-footed Thread-leg Katydid

Arethaea gracilipes

Identification: Characters shown on Arethaea gracilipes page

Eastern Thread-leg Katydid

Arethaea phalangium

Only member of the genus that far to the east. An individual in the literature was recorded to have the fore legs considerably reduced, which may suggest limb regeneration.

Robust Shieldback

Atlanticus gibbosus

Identification: Largest of our Atlanticus spp. Shape of the male cerci is distinctive

Southern Protean Shieldback

Atlanticus pachymerus

Identification: Some anatomic details of female Atlanticus pachymerus : pronotum subgenital plate Badly confused in literature with A. testaceus , but more southern in distribution; differing in males having

Protean Shieldback

Atlanticus testaceus

Identification: Forewings (tegmina) of male are about half (or greater) than length of the pronotum.

Cattail Conehead

Bucrates malivolans

Identification: body either brown or green, with short or long wings; cone round-tipped without prominent gap between it and face; wings cover most or all of abdomen; ovipositor very long, at least 1.5 times as long as hind femur ( see drawing at OSF

Weissman's Conehead

Bucrates weissmani

Identification: Similar to Neoconocephalus , but with only a slight notch under the base of the cone on the front of the head.

Arizona Longwing

Capnobotes arizonensis

Identification: Large, green to brown or gray, with large fairly even-spaced rounded pale spots on tegmina. Hinds wings not dark. Prosternal spine, and ventral hind femoral spines absent (present in other Capnobotes species). C. fuliginosa has dark

Slender Longwing

Capnobotes attenuatus

Identification: Similar to C. occidentalis but more slender. Male song is similar, but sounds somewhat different, being more regular and softer.

Bruner Longwing

Capnobotes bruneri

Identification: Compared to C. occidentalis (which occurs in the same area), pronotum is more even in shape, wings shorter with tegmina wide toward base and distinctly narrowing toward tip (longer and more even in width in in C. occidentalis ). Colo

Sooty Longwing

Capnobotes fuliginosus

Identification: Large Kaydid with long wings. Tegmina narrow, marked with rows of pale rounded spots. Hind wings dark sooty gray to nearly black (sometimes coloring is broken, but wing is still mostly dark). Very similar to C. occidentalis and over

Grant Longwing

Capnobotes granti

Identification: Similar to C. bruneri , but found further north, and tegmina somewhat more slender. Found in same area as C. attenuatus , but that species has much longer and more slender wings, with tegmina more even in width (not strongly tapering

Western Longwing

Capnobotes occidentalis

Identification: Very similar to Capnobotes fuliginosus , and overlapping distribution widely, but this species ranges further north and not so far southward. In comparison, C. occidentalis is somewhat smaller and more varied in body coloring (gray,

Spatulate Longwing

Capnobotes spatulatus

Identification: Very similar to C. occidentalis . C. attenuatus is more slender.

One-tooth Longwing

Capnobotes unodontus

Identification: As other California species, can come in different colors (green, brownish, gray). Very similar to and perhaps not distinct from C. spatulatus . Tip of male cercus bilobed, but only subapical lobe is toothed (both lobes toothed in C.

Seashore Meadow Katydid

Conocephalus aigialus

Identification: Presumably requires examination of male cerci--see Internet references.

Long-tailed Meadow Katydid

Conocephalus attenuatus

Identification: Typically either all red or red with green limbs.

Short-winged Meadow Katydid

Conocephalus brevipennis

Identification: Typically has short wings, a few mm shorter than body. Males can be recognized by structure of cerci--see SINA page on genus, and the thumbnail below: Female ovipositor is shorter than body, upper margin is nearly straight.

Woodland Meadow Katydid

Conocephalus nemoralis

Identification: Robust in form, female with thick curved ovipositor for genus. Dark color - sides usually black. Male with veins in tegmina heavy and usually pale in color. Song is a series of brief, quiet buzzes or trills, often given at uneven in

Black-sided Meadow Katydid

Conocephalus nigropleurum

Identification: side of abdomen black; pronotum bright green; ovipositor straight and about as long as abdomen; ventral surface of hind femur with one or more spines

Brownsville Meadow Katydid

Conocephalus resacensis

Type locality: Texas, nr. Brownsville, Piper Plantation Texas Parks & Wildlife considers this to be a "Species of Greatest Conservation Need" (SGCN)

Spot-legged Meadow Katydid

Conocephalus stictomerus

Identification: Distinctive color pattern, usually green with back (including wings) light brownish; with head most often buffy to orangey with darker red mid-stripe; end of abdomen yellow to orange; hind femur usually with red-brown spots on outer f

Ball's Little Shieldback

Decticita balli

Identification: Distinguished from other species in genus by distribution and presence of strong lateral carinae on pronotum.

Variegated Shield-back

Idiostatus variegatus

Identification: Distinctive cream or yellowish and darker brown pattern. Female ovipositor much shorter than hind femur, dark in color.

Apache Bush Katydid

Insara apache

Identification: More robust than other Insara spp; colored plain green as opposed to other species which are patterned

Creosote Bush Katydid

Insara covilleae

Identification: Pronotum is "saddle-shaped" . Green or dark green with prominent white spots on tegmina (forewings). Rarely brown.

Elegant Bush Katydid

Insara elegans

Identification: Tegmina either marked with a herringbone pattern or plain-colored. The latter form was designated by Rehn & Hebard as " Insara elegans consuetipes ". The nocturnal adults are generally attracted to light.

Gemmate Bush Katydid

Insara gemmicula

Identification: Smaller than other Insara spp; distinctive pattern of cinnamon, cream, black, and white.

Florida True Katydid

Lea floridensis

This species occurs in two color phases--pinkish-brown and green. The pinkish-brown phase is more prevalent in females (30%) than in males (10%). Unlike Paracyrtophyllus robustus , the only other U.S. species of true katydid known to have a pinkish f

Speckled Bush-Cricket

Leptophyes punctatissima

Recorded on Nantucket, MA, by Morse, and Vickery and Kevan . There are several records on BugGuide and iNaturalist: a BugGuide image from Ontario, a BugGuide image from NY, an iNaturalist photo also from NY, and two iNaturalist photos and from RI. As

Southern Oak Bush-Cricket

Meconema meridionale

Identification: Like Meconema thalassinum , but with tiny wings as an adult. This species has apparently not been noticed before 2017 in North America, individuals photographed and perhaps collected before this having been mistaken for nymphs of Meco

Drumming Katydid

Meconema thalassinum

Identification: A tiny, sea-green katydid with a tympanum fully exposed on each foretibia. Forewings longer than hindwings. No stridulatory area apparent at base of male forewings. Male cerci long, slender, tubular, curving upwards . This species cal

Roesel’s Katydid

Metrioptera roeselii

Identification: Song is a "high-pitched quavering buzz" ( species account with sound recordings .) An introduced species from Europe first found in Montreal in 1953 . Both long and short-winged forms exist. The long-winged forms can fly some distance

California Angle-winged Katydid

Microcentrum californicum

Identification: Appearance similar to Greater Angle-winged Katydid, Microcentrum rhombifolium , but songs are different. Compare audio files at these Web pages: California Angle-wing: http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/033a.htm Greater Angle-wing:

Texas Anglewing

Microcentrum minus

Identification: Smaller than rhombifolium and with distinct cerci and subgenital plate in the male. Type locality: Hidalgo Co., TX

Modest Katydid

Montezumina modesta

Identification: Very similar to the genus Amblycorypha . Head is smaller. Eye (in live specimens) has a bold dark diagonal stripe through it. Thorax and front of tegmina usually edged strongly with yellow on top.

Lesser Arid-land Katydid

Neobarrettia victoriae

Identification: Front edge of pronotum green; femoral teeth bicolored; center of hindwings jet black (SINA) Type locality: Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico

Caudell's Conehead

Neoconocephalus caudellianus

Author of species: Davis, William Thompson (1862-1945). See Gordh and Headrick, p. 262 , original reference is American Entomologists .

Black-nosed Conehead

Neoconocephalus melanorhinus

Identification: Female ovipositor almost as long as hind femur, but not reaching end of folded wings (which are very long). Cone on head a little longer than broad, tapering toward broad rounded tip, almost entirely black on under side.

Marsh Conehead

Neoconocephalus palustris

Identification: Quoting account at Singing Insects of North America : As in other members of this genus, there are green and brown forms. See iNaturalist for an example of a brown form.

Round-tipped Conehead

Neoconocephalus retusus

Identification: Song: A rather weak, beady, continuous buzz heard from within tangles of vegetation, during afternoons as well as at night. Paraphrasing SINA :

Robust Conehead

Neoconocephalus robustus

The song is a continuous whirring buzz that is extremely loud. Up close it is ear splitting, and it can sometimes be heard on a still night from as much as a mile away.

Broad-tipped Conehead

Neoconocephalus triops

Identification: Song is a buzz interrupted at one second intervals, then switches to a continuous buzz. Males call from low bushes or from high intrees. Active earlier in the season than others in the genus. Large conehead, green or brown. Cone wider

Spoon-tailed Short-wing Katydid

Obolopteryx catinata

Type locality: Brownsville, Cameron County, Texas Texas considers this to be a "Species of Greatest Conservation Need" (SGCN)

Gladiator Short-winged Katydid

Obolopteryx gladiator

Identification: Females possess an extremely long ovipositor which, in lateral view, is very distinctively narrow, much more so than in any other species (Cohn, Swanson, & Fontana 2014) Texas considers this a SGCN

Mountain-dwelling short-winged katydid

Obolopteryx oreoeca

Identification: Male cercus has a spoon-shaped thumb, nearly identical to D. catinata . More or less restricted to two populations in Texas (see below). The population in the Chisos Mountains has thick conspicuous white lateral stripes, but this char

Apalachicola meadow katydid

Odontoxiphidium apalachicolae

Identification: Similar to O. apterum in overall appearance. Most easily distinguished in the field by its distinctive color pattern (generally red, with two turquoise stripes running down pronotum), shape of female ovipositor, and distinctive male s

Wingless Meadow Katydid

Odontoxiphidium apterum

Identification: Male forewings shorter than pronotum (female forewings concealed by pronotum): Male cercus with 2 teeth as opposed to 1 in Conocephalus and Orchelimum: This little species does in fact have wings (albeit extremely short ones), contrar

Agile Meadow Katydid

Orchelimum agile

Identification: A slender Orchelimum , rather resembles Conocephalus . Coloration is a rather washed out green, with a mostly creamy white face bordered with brown maculation. Eyes white or light pink. Wings typically (?) longer than abdomen in most

Red-headed Meadow Katydid

Orchelimum erythrocephalum

Identification: Coloration typically green with reddish highlights, including a (usually) bright red head in both sexes. Eyes light blue. Red head is (apparently?) distinctive in this genus, however some specimens do not show a bright red head. In th

Gladiator Meadow Katydid

Orchelimum gladiator

Identification: Posterior lateral sinus of the pronotum is poorly developed. Song is a "series of ticks followed by a long shuffling trill" (' Songs of Insects )

Black-legged Meadow Katydid

Orchelimum nigripes

Identification: Dark legs distinctive. Face white with mottling. Very similar to Handsome Meadow Katydid , Orchelimum pulchellum , mostly found in the southeast. Singing Insects of North America Range maps ( Black-legged , Handsome ), but that specie

Handsome Meadow Katydid

Orchelimum pulchellum

Identification: Note white face with brownish to reddish mottling on edges, brown legs, diffuse turquoise stripe on upper sides back along wings. Eyes usually blue --fairly distinctive. Compare cerci of male if possible with illustrations in Singing

Long-spurred Meadow Katydid

Orchelimum silvaticum

Identification: This species has the longest "tooth" on the inner surface of the male cerci, this feature prompting the common name

Arizona Meadow Katydid

Orchelimum unispina

Identification: Very similar to Conocephalus in general appearance - more slender than other Orchelimum spp., and with a straight ovipositor (unlike the upcurved ovipositor of most Orchelimum). Shape of male cercus and calling song are distinctive.

Chisos Katydid

Paracyrtophyllus excelsus

Texas Parks & Wildlife considers this to be a "Species of Greatest Conservation Need" (SGCN)

Red Katydid

Paracyrtophyllus robustus

Identification: True katydids have leaf-like wings that form cups enclosing the abdomen. Wings only allow for feeble flight. (The cupped wings probably serve to amplify their songs.) Antennae longer and stiffer than in other katydids Green form (nymp

Bruner Shieldback

Pediodectes bruneri

Identification: Very similar to P. tinkhami , but with rear of sides of face (in adults) pale, and white band across face expanded to a broader triangle. Rear of pronotum usually more prominently black. Occurs further to the east.

Haldeman's Shieldback

Pediodectes haldemanii

Identification: Fairly large Shieldback, and very stocky. Looks rather even and "smooth" in coloring, and is usually green (sometimes brownish). Top of pronotum usually dark toward the rear, especially at the "corners". Pronotum bordered pale with

Stevenson's Shieldback

Pediodectes stevensonii

Type locality: Colorado, southern "elevated grassy terraces near mountains"

Tinkham's Shieldback

Pediodectes tinkhami

Identification: Usually light gray or brown with a pattern of slightly darker shading; abdominal segments thinly edged darker (often black). With lateral lobes of pronotum darker gray or brown bordered with pale with a dark rear edge. With a pale (

Mediterranean Katydid

Phaneroptera nana

Identification: Nymphs of this species are very similar to nymphs of Scudderia spp. , but have more and narrower black rings around the antennae than any Scudderia nymphs in the same area. Introduced from Europe perhaps since the 1930s.

Phaneroptera nr-nana

Identification: Individuals of this FL population of Phaneroptera are more slender than P. nana, with proportionately longer legs; males also differ in appearance of the external genitalia. P.nana P. 'nr-nana' The earliest known U.S. record of this s

Chaparral Katydid

Platylyra californica

"A common but seldom seen southern California katydid. It inhabits native chaparral vegetation throughout the state but is secretive and does not readily fly to lights. Similar to Scudderia but smaller, not as slender and with shorter wings" - Jeffre

Hook-faced Conehead

Pyrgocorypha uncinata

Identification: wings extend beyond abdomen; cone has prominent gap separating cone from face, and ends in sharp down-turned point; brown females and green females occur in approximately equal numbers; males are always brown Song is a high-pitched ri

Southeastern Bush Katydid

Scudderia cuneata

Some individuals posted to BugGuide and identified as Scudderia furcata may actually belong to this species. The differences between the two are small, and they can be very difficult to tell apart, unless male genitalia are seen. Nymphs tend to be l

Curve-tailed Bush Katydid

Scudderia curvicauda

Identification: Outer lobes of male supra-anal plate form a shallow V, and turn away from each other; from above, it resembles a whale's fluke

Treetop Bush Katydid

Scudderia fasciata

Identification: • Male supra-anal plate large, inflated. Lobes form a deep U, or fork. (This is almost identical to S. furcata, but that species does not have dark striping on the tegmina): • More identification tips for separating fasciata and furca

Broad-winged Bush Katydid

Scudderia pistillata

Identification: This is the only species in this genus with an outer wing length only three times its width Lobes of male supra-anal plate form a wide, rounded V, and taper strongly toward the tips. Resembles a whale's fluke:

Northern Bush Katydid

Scudderia septentrionalis

Identification: Male supra-anal plate truncated: Often referred to as rare in much of the early literature, but can be locally common. considered by VA to be a Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN)

Texas Bush Katydid

Scudderia texensis

Identification: Male supra-anal plate with a small tooth in the middle

Steiroxys pallidipennis

Steiroxys pallidipalpus

Identification: Usually rather evenly colored; green, yellowish brown, or reddish brown; sometimes with a stripe down the mid-dorsum, and with pale yellowish along upper-lateral and rear lateral margins of pronotum. Pronotum with sides nearly parall

Giant Katydid

Stilpnochlora couloniana

Identification: Largest katydid in U.S, over 65 mm long. Top margin of tegmen with two sites of significantly increased curvature. Will feed on bramble and oak in captivity.

Texas turp

Turpiliodes mexicanum

Identification: Hebard (1932): "[The genus Turpiliodes] is distinguished from Turpilia by the strongly sulcate dorsal surfaces of the cephalic and median tibiae. The material here recorded shows the following additional differences; fastigium slender