Greenish Meadow Katydid - Conocephalus (Chloroxiphidion) upoluensis
Family TETTIGONIIDAE
This page contains pictures and information about the Greenish Meadow Katydids that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia. They are also known as Upolu Meadow Katydids.
- Female, body length 20mm
- This is one of the common katydid found in Brisbane bushland. However they are not easily be seen because they are active at night. Usually they hide among long grasses or reeds.
- Male Female Nymph, body length 15mm
- Their body is bright green in colour with dark brown on the back. They feed on flowers and seeds. They produce low buzzing calls throughout the summer season.
- This katydid can look at us from its back. If we move a bit closer, it jumps away. We took those pictures in Eight Mile Plains and Karawatha Forest. Notice also the long sword-like ovipositor of the female.
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- The above photos were taken late in the afternoon, when the Greenish Meadow Katydids start to become active. They were shy and ready to hide in dense grasses when we came closer. When found, they usually hold tightly to the stem on which they are resting and move to the opposite side for hiding.
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- Notice its antennae is about four times of its body length.
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- Reference:
- 1. Insects of Australia - CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University Press, 2nd Edition 1991, p382.
- 2. Grasshopper Country - the Abundant Orthopteroid Insects of Australia, D Rentz, UNSW Press, 1996, p94.
- 3. Blackish Meadow Katydid Fact File - Wildlife of Sydney, Australian Museum online.
- 4. A Guide to the Katydids of Australia - David Rentz, CSIRO PUBLISHING, 2010, p103.
