Orchelimum vulgare
common field katydid
(Also: common meadow grasshopper; common meadow katydid)

The common field katydid can be found in 19 states within the United States. They are the most common and widespread member of the genus Orchelimum. They cover a large section of the United States extending south from Southern Canada all the way to regions of Northern Texas. They can be found as far west as Wyoming and Colorado(Drees and Jackman, 1998).

The Common Meadow Katydid is found in fields and low meadows. It prefers to perch on clumps of large grass (Hill, 1999). Its coloring allows it to blend in well in this environment better protecting it from predation. The climate for these insects must be somewhat moderate, not reaching extreme temperatures or humidity conditions.

O. vulgare is generally 30-35 mm in length. The body is a deep green color and the legs are pale brown. This color scheme helps it to blend into the tall grassy areas of fields and meadows as its common name signifies. It is distinguishable by the long slender spines of the posternum. The tegmina of O. vulgare are slightly longer than the abdomen, and the wings are slightly shorter(Arnett 1985, Hill 1999).

Female meadow katydids lay eggs in the late summer or early fall. The little katydid nymphs stay dormant in their eggs through the winter, and emerge in late spring. They look like smaller versions of the adults, except that they have no wings. As they grow, they molt (shed their whole skin at once) several times. After their last molt, they become adults having wings, and are ready to reproduce. The adults live until the weather gets too cold (below freezing). In the southern, warmer part of its range, this species grows and reproduces faster, and there may be more than one generation per year.

The common field katydid is a very loud diurnal singer. Most katydids have specialized hearing organs and thoracic auditory interneurons. O. vulgare has tympanal organs located in the openings of the foretibiae. It has anterior and posterior membranes on the tympanal organs which are backed by a tracheal branch and separated by Athin Septum(Gangwere, et al 1997). The sound an O. vulgare insect makes is distinct from that of all other types of Katydids and grasshoppers. The song begins with a "zeeeee" lasting three seconds, a pause for five seconds, and a series of "zips." The songs differ somewhat with night and day (Hill 1999).

Male katydids rub their wings together to make sounds and call to females. Both males and females have ears on their legs!

O. vulgare is polyphagous, eating many different kinds of plants. One hypothesis states that it uses a type of chemical test on the waxy cuticle of the plant to determine if it will eat it. This is often followed by a test bite(Gangwere, et al 1997). It has also been observed that they may be carnivorous on certain occasions, eating moths, soldier beetles, or other Katydids. One O. vulgare female was observed eating her mate. She held him between her legs and ate a hole into his back, allowing her to eat many of the soft parts of the body (Hill 1999, Helfer 1963). Katydids of all kinds will adapt to many different sources of food. They are sometimes known to attack crops or other cultivated vegetation.

These katydids are good at hiding. They have camouflage colors, and keep still when predators are near. They can hop fast if they need to, but cannot fly (they use their wings for calling).

Katydids are an important food source for insectivores.

Katydids sometimes eat garden plants or crops, but they don't usually do enough damage to be important.

O. vulgare is one of the best species to use for studies in bioacoustics.

This species is common and widespread, so does not need any special protection.