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Insects

Katydids and crickets can be separated from grasshoppers by their long antennae (longer than body). Immature orthopterans do not pass through a pupal stage and look much like smaller versions of the adults with stubby wings.

Orthoptera (grasshoppers, katydids, crickets) of Ojibway

Grasshopper, crickets and katydids belong to the insect order Orthoptera (meaning "straight-wing") and are best known for their powerful hind limbs and ability to jump. There is a single generation per year with adults most commonly present in late summer. A few species overwinter as nymphs and the adults appear in spring or early summer.

There are 49 species recorded in the Ojibway area. Species such as Short-winged Green Grasshopper, Scudder's Short-winged Grasshopper and Say's Bush Cricket have affinities to prairie habitat while others such as Walsh's Grasshopper, Davis's Tree Cricket, Two-spotted Tree Crickets and Eastern Ant Cricket are southern species rarely recorded in Canada.

Many katydids and crickets can be more easily identified by song than by sight. Many species are accomphished singers and the park is alive with song on warm summer and early autumn evenings. The Snowy Tree Cricket is well known as the "temperature cricket". Count the number of chirps in 13 seconds and add 40 to calculate the temperature (F.).
Here is a 13 second MP3 recording of Snowy Tree Cricket taken at Ojibway. What was the temperature?

Ojibway Grasshoppers

  Acrididae

• Chloealtus conspersa Harris   Sprinkled grasshopper
• Dichromorpha viridis (Scudder)   Short-winged Green Grasshopper
• Melanoplus bivittatus (Say)   Two-striped Grasshopper
• Melanoplus confusus (Scudder)   Little or Pasture Grasshopper
• Melanoplus differentialis differentialis (Thomas)   Differential Grasshopper
• Melanoplus f. femurrumbrum (De Geer)   Red-legged Grasshopper
• Melanoplus islandicus Blatchley   Forest or Graceful Grasshopper
• Melanoplus punctulatus griseus (Thomas)   Griseous Grasshopper
• Melanoplus scudderi scudderi (Uhler)   Scudder's Short-winged Grasshopper
• Melanoplus walshii Scudder   Walsh's Grasshopper
    Oedipodinae, Band-winged grasshoppers
  
• Arphia sulphurea (Fabricius)   Spring yellow-winged grasshopper
• Chortophaga viridifasciata (DeGeer)   Green-striped grasshopper
• Dissosteria carolina (Linnaeus)   Carolina Grasshopper
• Spharagemon bolli bolli Scudder   Boll's Grasshopper
    Tetrigidae
  
• Paratettix cucullatus (Burmeister)   Hooded Pygmy Grasshopper
• Tetrix arenosa angusta (Hancock)   Obscure Pygmy Grasshopper
    Batrachidae
  
• Tettigidea lateralis lateralis (Say)   Sedge Pygmy Grasshopper
    Tridactylidae
  
• Ellipes minutus minutus (Scudder)   Minute Pygmy Grasshopper

Differential Grasshopper Melanoplus d. differentialis	Two-striped Grasshopper Melanoplus bivittatus	Short-winged Green Grasshopper Dichromorpha viridis

Red-legged Grasshopper Melanoplus f. femurrubrum	Griseous Grasshopper Melanoplus punctulatus griseus	Spring Yellow-winged Grasshopper Arphia sulphurea

Say's Bush Cricket  Anaxipha exigua	Roesel's Katydid  Metrioptera roeselii

Ojibway Crickets and Katydids

  Rhaphidophoridae

• Ceuthophilus brevipes Scudder   Short-legged Camel Cricket
• Ceuthophilus meridionalis Scudder   Striped Camel Cricket
    Tettigoniidae - Conocephalinae
  
• Conocephalus brevipennis (Scudder)   Short-winged Meadow Katydid
• Conocephalus nigropleurum (Bruner)   Black-sided Meadow Katydid
• Neoconocephalus ensiger (Harris)   Sword-bearing Conehead
• Orchelimum gladiator Bruner   Gladiator Meadow Katydid
• Orchelimum nigripes Scudder   Black-legged Meadow Katydid
  
• Orchelimum vulgare Harris   Common Meadow Katydid
    Tettigoniidae - Tettigoniinae
  
• Metrioptera roeselii   Roesel's Katydid
    Tettigoniidae - Phaneropterinae
  
• Amblycorypha oblongifolia (De Geer)   Oblong-winged Katydid
• Microcentrum rhombifolium (Saussure)   Angle-winged Katydid
• Scudderia curvicauda curvicauda (DeGeer)   Curve-tailed Bush Katydid
• Scudderia furcata furcata Brunner von Wattenwyl   Fork-tailed Bush Katydid
• Scudderia texensis Saussure and Pictet   Texas Bush Katydid
    Tettigoniidae - Pseudophyllinae
  
• Pterophylla camellifolia camellifolia (Fabricius)   Northern True Katydid
  Gryllidae – Gryllinae
  
• Gryllus pennsylvanicus Burmeister   Fall Field Cricket
• Gryllus veletis Alexander & Bigelow   Spring Field Cricket
    Gryllidae – Myrmecophilinae
  
• Myrmecophilus pergandei Bruner   Eastern Ant Cricket
    Gryllidae - Nemobiinae
  
• Allonemobius fasciatus (De Geer)   Striped Ground Cricket
• Allonemobius griseus griseus (E.M. Walker)   Gray Ground Cricket
• Allonemobius maculatus (Blatchley)   Spotted Ground Cricket
• Eunemobius carolinus (Scudder)   Carolina Ground Cricket
• Neonemobius palustris (Blatchley)   Marsh Ground Cricket
    Gryllidae - Oecanthinae
  
• Neoxabea bipunctata (De Geer)   Two-spotted Tree Cricket
• Oecanthus exclamationis Davis   Davis's Tree Cricket
• Oecanthus fultoni T. Walker   Snowy Tree Cricket
• Oecanthus nigricornis F. Walker   Black-horned Tree Cricket
• Oecanthus niveus (De Geer)   Narrow-winged Tree Cricket
• Oecanthus quadripunctatus Beutenmiiller   Four-spotted Tree Cricket
    Trigonidiidae
  
• Anaxipha exigua (Say)   Say's Bush Cricket
    Gryllotalpidae
  
• Neocurtilla hexadactyla hexadactyla (Perty)   Northern Mole Cricket

Cricket images

Northern Mole Cricket Neocurtilla hexadactyla hexadactyla	Two-spotted Tree Cricket Neoxabea bipunctata	Male chewed this hole and used it as a song perch

singing Snowy Tree Cricket Oecanthus fultoni	singing Black-horned Tree Cricket Oecanthus nigricornis	Davis's Tree Cricket Oecanthus exclamationis

Katydid images

Oblong-winged Katydid (pink morph) Amblycorypha oblongifolia	Angle-winged Katydid Microcentrum rhombifolium	Sword-bearing Conehead Neoconocephalus ensiger

Common Meadow Katydid (male) Orchelimum vulgare	Black-legged Meadow Katydid (female) Orchelimum nigripes	Black-legged Meadow Katydid (male) Orchelimum nigripes

Photographs © P.D. Pratt, T. Preney