MAR 31 – Others of Interest
😊 I almost messed up—had to add this day after already starting to work on April drafts. Note to self (which I have to remember every year) — 30 days has September… April, June, and November. All the rest have 31 !
For anyone traveling to Ecuador, Colombia or Oaxaca Mexico, here are interesting photos from the subfamily Oecanthinae posted on iNaturalist:
Tree Crickets (Subfamily Oecanthinae) from Tena, Ecuador on December 02, 2020 at 10:06 AM by Jesus Ramos Martin · iNaturalist Super long antennae and limbs, and the limbs are very slender. The wing pattern looks similar to Neoxabea, but this male seems to have green at the edges of the tegmina. Thomas J. Walker mentions that N. lepta might be greenish (he only had access to dried specimens), but he also indicated there were no dark markings.
Tree Crickets (Subfamily Oecanthinae) from Amacayacu National Natural Park, Leticia, Amazonas, CO on May 08, 2022 at 08:45 PM by AJ Johnson · iNaturalist This female from Colombia also has very long slender limbs, but note the very long pronotum. She does have a green color, so again, similar to Neoxabea lepta, but she seems to have short setae on the hind tibiae.
Tree Crickets (Subfamily Oecanthinae) from San Mateo Rio Hondo, Oax., México on December 09, 2019 at 09:00 AM by Erick Noe Tapia Banda · iNaturalist The reddish orange eyes are what caught my attention when I first reviewed this photo. I’ve not seen a tree cricket with deep orange and dark purple on the head and pronotum. I wondered if it might be O. mhatreae (Otomi tree cricket), but that species has rounded antennal markings…and these are definitely linear.
These are in the family of Oecanthidae:
Genus Ectotrypa from Cerro Azul Meámbar, Santa Cruz de Yojoa, Cortés, Honduras on December 29, 2021 at 09:10 PM by Eric van den Berghe · iNaturalist This stunning orthopteran is classified under the family Oecanthidae, but not in the subfamily of Oecanthinae (Oecanthus, Birmanioecanthus, Oecanthodes, Viphyus, Neoxabea, Xabea, Leptogryllus, Prognathogryllus and Thaumatogryllus).
Bermanioecanthus was discovered in amber: Insects | Free Full-Text | The Oldest Representatives of Tree Crickets (Orthoptera: Gryllidae; Oecanthinae) from Northern Myanmar (mdpi.com)
April will be a month of analyzing songs. I have several hundred recordings of singing male tree crickets, and plan to share videos or WAV files of the US species – with discussions regarding pulse rate, frequency (well…sort of), temperature effects, stridulatory files, baffles, comparisons, chorusing and more.
In May I will cover species from Hawaii, Mexico, Central America and the rest of the world.
In June, I should have access to live nymphs.
Tomorrow: Mechanics of tree cricket songs
MAR 30 – Big Bend Texas
There are some very pale headed/pale antennae, wide-winged individuals in Brewster County, near Big Bend National Park. They may be extra pale Western tree crickets, but they are interesting enough to investigate further.
MAR 29 – Baja
Ah, if only I were 10 years younger, there was no such thing as COVID, and it was completely safe to travel to out of the way places in Mexico! If all those were true, I so would be going to Baja to search for what I believe is a new species. Since Baja is connected to California, there is a slight possibility of finding it in extreme southern California.
In the 1960’s, Dr. Richard D. Alexander ( Richard D. Alexander – The life’s work of a pioneering evolutionary biologist (cuny.edu) ),traveled throughout Mexico and recorded several undetermined species of tree crickets. He had one of his graduate students analyze the songs – Thomas J. Walker. Only the top 4 of these have been identified or most likely to be these: Alexander’s, Riley’s, Snowy and Cri-Cri. The bottom four have yet to be identified and described.
MAR 28 – Colorado dark pini ?
We are waiting for DNA results to see if these are a very dark form of Pine tree cricket, or if they are a new species. Whatever they are, they photograph very well 😉
They are located in an area with Ponderosa Pines – very dark trees.
The song has a slower pulse rate than those of Oecanthus pini in Wisconsin, but that could be a geographical difference such as that which occurs with Oecanthus fultoni (i.e. the rate in Oregon is slightly faster than that in Ohio). The Colorado males also sing slightly faster than Oecanthus laricis.
Tomorrow: Baja
MAR 27 – Cri-cri (Oecanthus rohinae)
species Neoxabea mexicana Collins & Velazco-Macias, 2021: Orthoptera Species File
Although described quite a bit south of the US (in the Mexican state of Querétaro), this species are probably occurring in the Mexican states of Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas, which are just south of the US.
They look remarkably similar to Oecanthus fultoni, and thus impossible to ID from photos alone. Individuals close to Querétaro are most likely Cri-cri. There are slight differences in the internal genitalia, and the song is faster.
Tomorrow: Colorado dark pini ?
MAR 26 – Mexican (Neoxabea mexicana)
species Neoxabea mexicana Collins & Velazco-Macias, 2021: Orthoptera Species File
This species has a greater chance than Oecanthus comma of being found in southern Texas. The species was described from Monterey, Nuevo Leon – only 75 miles from Texas.
It has a much different sound than N. bipunctata, N. ottei or N. cerrojesusensis. It has a flute-like quality.
MAR 25 – Oecanthus comma
Oecanthus comma is named after the black comma-shaped mark on the 1st antennal segment (scape) – see pg 787 AE60p784.pdf (ufl.edu)
species Oecanthus comma Walker, 1967: Orthoptera Species File
This is a species that has a very slight potential to be found in extreme southern Texas. One paratype was collected in Palmito, Durango, Mexico – about 250 miles south of Big Bend National Park in Texas.
I have personally never encountered this species. There are a couple of photos on iNaturalist.org:
MAR 24 – Broad-winged (Oecanthus latipennis)
broad-winged tree cricket (Oecanthus latipennis) (orthsoc.org)
I was VERY excited when I managed to find this species in SE Wisconsin. They are rarely encountered in this state. They have bright raspberry red to pale pink antennae – to around the 10th or so segment.
You can see the bright red pattern down the abdomen through the wings.
Males have a straighter distal edge of the tegmina than other wide-winged species. This species tends to prefer areas where vegetation is less densely spaced.
Many years ago they were found in the SW corner of Wisconsin, and in recent years they have been spotted in areas near Madison. The female in these photos is particularly pretty…light raspberry red on the head, red up the antennae, and yellowish on the sides of the head and pronotum: Broad-winged Tree Cricket (Oecanthus latipennis) from Moth Station 3 on August 12, 2021 at 11:42 PM by Angus Mossman. At building lights after dark. ID uncertain. · iNaturalist
This was the first one I found in SE Wisconsin. At the time, I did not realize what is was…I thought it was probably Four-spotted. It wasn’t until I captured him did I see the pink running up the antennae.
Tomorrow: Oecanthus comma
MAR 23 – Tamarack (Oecanthus laricis)
tamarack tree cricket (Oecanthus laricis) (orthsoc.org)
I have very little experience with this species, which has a very small range….southern Michigan and extreme northeastern Ohio.. I searched a Tamarack bog in SE Wisconsin twice, and found a teneral Two-spotted tree cricket and a Pine tree cricket on Tamarack trees….but no Oecanthus laricis. The best place to search for this species is in southern Michigan, which is where the individuals below were found.
They look VERY similar to Pine tree cricket. They have a darker brown pronotum, and have a somewhat darker green color…but there are Pine individuals who can have these colors as well.
The song of the male Tamarack tree cricket is the best way to make an ID…they have the slowest rate in the nigricornis species group – even slower than Pine, Four-spotted, Sage and Walker’s. Note the yellow-tinted muddy beige metanotal gland.
MAR 22 – Pine (Oecanthus pini)
pine tree cricket (Oecanthus pini) (orthsoc.org)
Pine tree crickets are well colored to blend in with the conifers in which they dwell. The first Pine tree cricket I ever found was soooo loud, but I had a very hard time finding him. When I finally did, I completely understood why I had so much trouble seeing him!
Here are more photos of markings and coloring that help them blend in with their habitat.
This species has some degree of rust in all instar stages as well as adulthood.
Note the pinkish tint of the metanotal gland in the last photo. This is one way to tell Oecanthus pini from Oecanthus laricis, which would be a muddy yellowish color.
Pine tree crickets have a pretty tone to their song.
Pine tree crickets can be found in any conifer, native or not, densely or sparsely needled, tall or short, dark or light…from immense dark barked Ponderosa Pines, to Blue Spruce, White Pines and yellow tinted yews. You can also occasionally find them on any vegetation near the conifer on which they developed.
MAR 21 – Forbes’ (Oecanthus forbesi)
Forbes’s tree cricket (Oecanthus forbesi) (orthsoc.org)
These photos show how remarkably similar Forbes’ and Black-horned look. These dark limbed males are both Forbes’.
They start out so tiny. They are the tree cricket I most commonly find in SE Wisconsin.
The color on the underside of the abdomen varies with the amount of black on the head, pronotum and limbs. This female was mostly green, and thus has very pale coloring on the ventral surface of the abdomen.
This first video is just interesting because either the wings are moving so fast they are a faint blur….or the focus is off. Either way, the partial view of the tree cricket is a bit comical.
This second video is just pretty.
This third video was recorded with the temperature in the 90’s. It’s mind boggling that the wings of this male (which we cannot actually see here) are opening and closing 96 times a second ! (To further understand the difference between Black-horned and Forbes’…Black-horned would open and close its wings only 76 times a second in this temperature.)
You can see the differences on a graph by Dr. Thomas J. Walker on the SINA website. The ‘Fast-Trilling’ is Forbes’ and the ‘Slow-Trilling’ is Black-horned on the graph on page 781 here: s576lw63.pdf (orthsoc.org)
Here are more photos of Oecanthus forbesi:
A picture of a male keeping tabs on a female. They stayed here all day…as evening drew near, he repositioned himself. The female would have moved on to feed, and the male probably followed after her – singing to get her attention.
MAR 20 – Black-horned (Oecanthus nigricornis)
black-horned tree cricket (Oecanthus nigricornis) (orthsoc.org)
I have had very little exposure to Black-horned, but honestly, I could have easily used photos of Forbes’ here as they are inseparable by appearance. The color ranges from all green to deep black head, pronotum and limbs with green wings.
Somehow it seems disappointing to see a photo of a greenish winged tree cricket with deeply black antennae, head, pronotum and limbs – and find out it is Forbes’. However, that is entirely possible.
Male Black-horned tree cricket:
Mating pair of Forbes’ tree crickets:
This female Oecanthus nigricornis (Black-horned) was placed in a netted goldenrod plant with a male O. forbesi (Forbes’).
I was hoping to see if viable offspring would result. They certainly mated, and she oviposited a lot of eggs.
The following May I brought the stem indoors, but no nymphs emerged.
Interesting story with this female… I had been given one male and one female. I put the male O. nigricornis with a female O. forbesi, and put this female O. nigricornis with an O. forbesi male. I put two large nets around Solidago canadensis plants. The nets were tightly gathered and tied at the bottom. Well, apparently the nets for the female were not quite tight enough, because she escaped. I was horrified. This species is not found in Wisconsin. I searched and searched and searched…..and finally found her on the outside of a netted Four-spotted tree cricket! She must have been drawn to his slow song rate. Needless to say, I took her indoors….and never again tried netting a species not found in Wisconsin!!!
This is the male O. nigricornis, which has the same optical illusion involving his wings as we saw with O. quadripunctatus. The slow song rate possibly explains why I managed to find that escaped female that had traveled to the netted O. quadripunctatus.
MAR 19 – Two-spotted (Neoxabea bipunctata)
two-spotted tree cricket (Neoxabea bipunctata) (orthsoc.org)
Neoxabea bipunctata is essentially the only member of the genus of Neoxabea found in the U.S. One other species, Neoxabea formosa, occurred in extreme southern Texas in the early 1900’s, but has not been documented since. There are more records from Mexico, but they are extremely understudied.
Thankfully, I have had many encounters with Two-spotted tree crickets (Neoxabea bipunctata).
Young nymphs are adorable.
Contortions of the abdomen seem to be more common in this species…perhaps it is a behavior more common to this genus.
Early and late stages of a 4th instar female. As shedding the exoskeleton nears, the wing sacs swell.
Here are adults – male and female.
Adult male Two-spotted tree crickets.
One of my best videos. The mournful call of a male Two-spotted tree cricket on a cool evening. He made the baffle hole he is pressing his wings up against as he sings. This video was taken on a potted grape plant on a 6×10′ patio on the third floor of an apartment complex.
MAR 18 – White Sands (Oecanthus beameri)
White Sands tree cricket (Oecanthus beameri) (orthsoc.org)
Dr. Raymond Hill Beamer, professor of entomology at the University of Kansas, took part in a field expedition in the White Sands, New Mexico, area in 1932. Some of his specimens were donated to the collection at Drexel University (Academy of Natural Sciences) in Philadelphia.
In September 2019, 87 years later, I had a 6-hour layover in the airport in Philadelphia, so I took a taxi to the museum to look at their specimens. It just seemed like a shame to waste that time in the airport. Unfortunately, I just missed meeting Dr. Daniel Otte, but it turned out to be a very worthwhile side-trip anyway. There was a noticeably smaller and paler specimen in the Oecanthus quadripunctatus drawer. I looked over the remaining specimens, and found a second one. They were both from the White Sands, New Mexico area.
I pursued investigating these two specimens because it seemed to me that while there was a chance they were simply smaller and paler because of their habitat (small number of plants in a vast area of white sand), there was an equal chance they were an undescribed species because they were in such an isolated and unique habitat.
I planned to meet up with Dr. David Lightfoot (University of New Mexico) in 2020, but cancelled my trip due to the pandemic. However, Dr. Lightfoot was still able to visit the White Sands National Park and with a permit collected several tree crickets. The unique antennal markings made the description as a new species a bit easier. species Oecanthus beameri Collins & Lightfoot, 2022: Orthoptera Species File
This first video is only White Sands (Oecanthus beameri) singing. The second video has both White Sands and Narrow-winged. You can tell when it is White Sands singing by watching his wings.
The first sound shown on the spectrogram below is Four-spotted tree cricket singing at 4.1 kHz, and then White Sands starts singing at 4.5 kHz while the Four-spotted is still singing.
MAR 17 – Sage (Oecanthus salvii)
sage tree cricket (Oecanthus salvii) (orthsoc.org) SINA has many photos, so I’ll highlight etymology and location here….and its important morphological character – deep black setae on the femora.
I always love an opportunity to point out Lodovico Salvi, who wrote about tree crickets in 1750 ! We named this species after him to make sure his achievement would not be forgotten.
This species was described from a population found in Modoc County, California. This is the extreme northeast corner of the state, at Lake Annie. While reviewing BugGuide.net submissions in 2017, I noticed unusual looking tree crickets and reached out to the person who posted them (Ken R. Schneider). Adult female Oecanthus? – Oecanthus salvii – BugGuide.Net I was able to visit the area in 2019.
It’s truly isolated – where Bald Eagles are comfortable sitting on telephone poles, and cattle drives are the most action encountered.
The vegetation is mainly different species of sagebrush and rabbitbrush, and the tree cricket coloring matches well.
In this photo of a 5th instar, we have great views of the black setae on the femora.
The most outstanding character of this species is the deeply black, thick setae on the very pale green femora.
Adults retain the black setae: 6KHKWKKKPKZKWKKKO08QJ0UQY0VQF08KDK0KD0KKPKRKPK0KWK2QRSAQTKAQAKGKUKEQC08QY0GKVKUQ.jpg (2279×2061) (bugguide.net)
This photo shows the spines on the tibiae (tibial armature) that are seen on all Oecanthus species.
Although first described in the far northeastern corner of California, there have been many sightings in British Columbia: Observations · iNaturalist
MAR 16 – Narrow-winged (Oecanthus niveus)
narrow-winged tree cricket (Oecanthus niveus) (orthsoc.org)
This species has a purplish color of the abdomen. They are best identified by the black J mark on the first antennal segment – the only species that has this shape. This location is typical for where Narrow-winged oviposits on stems.
They eat small bugs, fruit, leaves and blossoms (or whatever is dwelling on those blossoms). Although I can’t say whether tree crickets were the original makers of this crater on the apple, they were definitely eating the apple. These catkins are on a hazelnut shrub.
In cool weather, the song of Narrow-winged tree cricket sounds rather mournful.
In hotter weather, it can be difficult at times to tell them apart from Two-spotted. This recording at 79 F has a continuous triller, a chirper, and an intermittent bursts of trilling – Narrow-winged is the intermittent bursts singer.
Narrow-winged tree crickets often take advantage of baffling – the use of leaves to essentially increase the size of their wings and thus the volume of their song. I have never personally seen one construct a baffle hole, but they do use them. Perhaps they are opportunists, and use holes made by Neoxabea bipunctata (Two-spotted).
MAR 15 – Davis’ (Oecanthus exclamationis)
Davis’s tree cricket (Oecanthus exclamationis) (orthsoc.org)
I was surprised to find a tiny Davis’ tree cricket nymph on a white pine tree. I expected to find a Pine tree cricket, and would have thought a Davis’ would be on deciduous trees. Apparently it wasn’t a fluke, because several years later I found another Davis’ on a different conifer less than two city blocks away.
Note how the antennal mark on the 1st segment does not curve inward at the bottom. Also note how the markings on the side of the abdomen appear filled in, rather than empty rings. These are the best way to tell it apart from Narrow-winged.
Note how the patch of golden orange on the head is small and isolated. It is too pale for Snowy or Narrow-winged.
Here is a male Oecanthus exclamationis from the front with his wings at rest.
Here he is from the back – singing. Their song is a trill with intermittent pauses. We can hear three pauses in this short video.
MAR 14 – Prairie (Oecanthus argentinus)
prairie tree cricket (Oecanthus argentinus) (orthsoc.org)
I have had minimal encounters with this species, even though they are rather widespread in the US. They might actually be found in the eastern US, but it is difficult to separate them from Black-horned and Forbes’ tree cricket in photos.
In 2021, I collected several oviposited goldenrod stems in eastern Iowa – hoping they were Prairie tree cricket eggs. A good number of nymphs emerged, and I raised them to adults. All of them had very thick black antennal markings, suggesting I had indeed found Oecanthus argentinus. The first photo here is O. argentinus; the last two are O. forbesi.
However, analysis of the song pulse rate showed they were actually Forbes’ tree crickets (song rates will be covered next month). Therefore, it is difficult to know the exact ranges of Prairie, Black-horned and Forbes’.
One character very often found on O. argentinus (L) is extralong hindwings. Unfortunately, O. forbesi (R) and O. nigricornis can also occasionally have extralong hindwings.
MAR 13 – Four-spotted tree cricket (Oecanthus quadriunctatus)
four-spotted tree cricket (Oecanthus quadripunctatus) (orthsoc.org)
It’s interesting that one of the palest green species in the US starts out as a nymph with a yellowish color and dark brown strip down the center of the pronotum and abdomen. Although the antennal markings can vary slightly, most of them have a rounded upper outer mark on the 1st antennal segment (the scape). Although tree crickets are not considered a major pollinator, they do their share! The setae on their limbs do a good job of holding onto pollen, and I have also seen it on their antennae.
Check out how well this female blends in with blades of grass.
Their claws do a good job of grasping vegetation and other materials.
This was a hot day in southern Texas. I never did find this singing male. For many years I assumed this was Fast- calling…but after analysis on Raven Lite, I discovered it is actually a Four-spotted. It was a VERY hot day (in the 90‘s) and the tree cricket was very close to the ground – where it felt even hotter, so sounds much faster than I had heard before.
This is how I usually hear it. (Excuse camera roaming…I generally do this to ensure I am getting a strong waveform to analyze – by putting the camera at different angles.)
This was a cool day in late September in Michigan. Note the optical illusion of very slow opening and closing of the wings…apparently it has something to do with matching the frame speed of the camera (30 frames/second).
Four-spotted tree cricket is the most widespread species in the US.
MAR 12 – Fast-calling tree cricket (Oecanthus celerinictus)
fast-calling tree cricket (Oecanthus celerinictus) (orthsoc.org)
This species has one character that can be very helpful in making an ID, unfortunately it is not always present. It seems that populations in Florida do have the double black rings on the hind tibiae and often on the mid tibiae as well, but many photos posted to iNaturalist and BugGuide from Texas lack the black rings. The lack of rings can make it difficult to rule out Four-spotted tree cricket if the antennal markings are not visible in the photo.
I have few recordings of this species. This was taken indoors in Gainesville, Florida, at 24.5C.
Here is another male which is an example of what I suppose is intermittent dysfunctional tooth strikes.
This female (missing one limb) is grooming herself.
MAR 11 – Snowy tree cricket (Oecanthus fultoni)
snowy tree cricket (Oecanthus fultoni) (orthsoc.org)
Snowy tree cricket looks remarkably similar to Riley’s…only the song rate and the size and position of the round black mark on the 2nd antennal segment (pedicel) are different. It is fascinating that the nymphs have double black lines on the tibiae…but these are absent on adults.
Note the mark on the pedicel are centrally located on the segment.
This pair of Snowy tree crickets were fond of a large hazelnut shrub. The male is shown singing and the female is ovipositing.
The videos show how the song rate changes with temperature….from slow on a cool night in October, to a common rate on a midwest summer evening, to a very fast rate near the Mexican border in Texas.
MAR 10 – Riley’s tree cricket (Oecanthus rileyi)
Riley’s tree cricket (Oecanthus rileyi) (orthsoc.org)
Riley’s tree cricket looks nearly identical to Snowy tree cricket.
Along with a slower song, Riley’s black dot on the 2nd antennal segment is smaller and is located nearer to the top edge of the segment (that of Snowy is centrally located on the segment (which we will see tomorrow).
Riley’s is a wide-winged tree cricket with orange on the head.
Singing male Riley’s tree cricket.
MAR 9 – Texas tree cricket (Oecanthus texensis)
Texas tree cricket (Oecanthus texensis) (orthsoc.org)
Compared to Different-horned tree crickets, Texas tree crickets have a more pastel appearance.
These photos show how swollen the male wings get before molting into adulthood.
The first video represents how the male will sit practically motionless for several days leading up to the final molt into adulthood…I assume because of the complicated forewings compared to those of the female. The second video shows a singing male. The third video is a male singing in San Manuel, Arizona.
MAR 8 – Great tree cricket (Oecanthus major)
great tree cricket (Oecanthus major) (orthsoc.org)
Little is known about this species. The best diagnostic character to date is the length of the female ovipositor. It extends far beyond the tips of the cerci. Cricket or Katydid? – Oecanthus major – BugGuide.Net
There are no recordings of the male’s song for this species, and it appears the best chance for encountering this Mexican species in the US is in southeastern Arizona. https://orthsoc.org/sina/595m.htm
Dr. Thomas J. Walker described this species in his 1967 paper, and points out that it is even larger than Oecanthus latipennis: https://orthsoc.org/sina/s576lw67.pdf
This photo is from the Florida State Collection of Arthropods in Gainesville.
A brown form female was photographed in Grant Wash area in Pinal County in 2010: Cricket or Katydid? – Oecanthus major – BugGuide.Net
It was found in a spot with this type of vegetation:
I should add here that there are no recordings of a singing male…anywhere by anyone. Perhaps someone reading this blog will be the first to do so! The best way to know if it a male Great tree cricket is to see one actively mating with a female with a super long ovipositor in SE Arizona or across the border in Mexico. If you find what seems to be a VERY large male with VERY wide wings…record it and post it on iNaturalist. Perhaps it will have a song that is sufficiently different from Western or Texas to easily be able to ID it as Oecanthus major. If you post one, flag Nan-cee.
MAR 7 – Western tree cricket (Oecanthus californicus)
As of March 2023, there are three ‘forms’ of this species in the US. The green form has the same green tone as many other Oecanthus species, but it also has a brown form. The brown form ranges from pale tan to dark brown.
western tree cricket (Oecanthus californicus) (orthsoc.org)
I find it interesting that four members of the varicornis species group – O. californicus, O. varicornis, O. major and O. texensis have a brown form, and all four occur in the western US. Oecanthus latipennis, an eastern US species, has not yet been confirmed as having a brown form.
A third form has the potential of actually being a distinctly different species – the pictipennis form. Hopefully DNA testing will answer that question by the end of 2023.
The antennae vary on all three forms from pale brown to red with little black to dark black.
MAR 6 – Thin-lined tree cricket (Oecanthus leptogrammus)
This species has not been found in the US since 1913 near Brownsville, Texas, but there are plenty of photos on iNaturalist from south of the border. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&subview=map&taxon_id=256706
I found this pair in Nicaragua. They look like Oecanthus niveus, but are longer and more slender. The antennal markings lack an inward curved J.
thin-lined tree cricket (Oecanthus leptogrammus) (orthsoc.org)
Tomorrow: Western (Oecanthus californicus)
MAR 5 – Brownsville tree cricket (Neoxabea formosa)
Brownsville tree cricket (Neoxabea formosa) (orthsoc.org)
This species presents a complicated situation. I’m certain my attempt to explain it will probably be confusing, but I’ll give it a try. The holotype for N. formosa is a female – she has four prominent dark blotches on the wings. Unfortunately, that pattern matches the female of N. bipunctata, thus making species identification of tree crickets found in northern Mexico and extreme southern US difficult. In 1967, Thomas J. Walker examined museum specimens and found males that had over 50 stridulatory teeth – not a match for N. bipunctata – and were identified as N. formosa. However, in 2020 males with over 50 teeth were discovered in northern Mexico that were actively mating with females that had only two prominent blotches. Since the N. formosa holotype female wing pattern did not match those found with the newly discovered tree crickets, these newly found tree crickets were described as a new species, N. mexicana.
Holotype female of Neoxabea formosa
Neoxabea ottei female and male
Neoxabea bipunctata female and male
Neoxabea cerrojesusensis female and male
Neoxabea mexicana female and male (photos below by Carlos Gerardo Velazco-Macias)
So that leaves us back at square one with N. formosa. Until a mating pair where the female has four wing blotches and the male has a song and stridulatory teeth total that does not match N. bipunctata or N. ottei, it will not be possible to make a positive identification of N. formosa.
MAR 4 – Alexander’s tree cricket (Oecanthus alexanderi)
Alexander’s tree cricket (Oecanthus alexanderi) (orthsoc.org)
This was recorded prior to realizing it was an undescribed species. It was encountered in Resaca de La Palma State Park in Brownsville, Texas.
Here is another recording:
Here is a news entry from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in 2009.
MAR 3 – Walker’s tree cricket (Oecanthus walkeri)
Walker’s tree cricket (Oecanthus walkeri) (orthsoc.org)
This species eats more vegetation than any other species I have kept in captivity.
Dr. Laurel Symes and I traveled to Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park in 2009 to look for tree crickets. She was working on her doctorate, and was using tree crickets as her focus subject. When I first heard this pattern, I hoped it was Oecanthus leptogrammus…one of our targets.
At that time, there were no recordings of a singing male O. leptogrammus, but it sounded different than what I was familiar with (although honestly at that time I had minimal exposure to different species). It seemed to be trilling at intervals.
We were finding them in Seep Willows and Tepejuage trees. They were very difficult to find.
Laurel Symes climbed a tepejuage tree to get recordings and try to spot one, but the intermittent trilling turned out to be a warm-up routine when they first start singing in late afternoon.
It was difficult to use a net because the small branches break easily on the tepejuage trees, and the willows are so dense.
After Dr. Thomas J. Walker confirmed that this was an undescribed species, I took another trip to Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park to find more individuals – including a holotype. In my final hour there, I managed to find a mating pair at eye level! If you watch closely in the center of the video, you can see the male suddenly close his wings.
MAR 2 – Different-horned tree cricket (Oecanthus varicornis)
different-horned tree cricket (Oecanthus varicornis) (orthsoc.org)
This photo shows oviposition holes on a stem of Bishop’s Cap. We can see the tiny holes, which have been plugged with chewed plant matter – taken off the stem and appearing as white patches here. This species is a member of the varicornis group, which lays 2-4 eggs side by side above and below the hole – leaving 4 – 8 eggs oviposited through a single hole.
My first encounter with this species was hearing the song at night on a large-leafed deciduous tree in Resaca de la Palma State Park. I did not know what it was until I spotted him a bit out of reach with a flashlight. You can other species in the background…Different-horned is the continuously trilling song.
Here are views of a male Different-horned with moving wings and at rest.
This map shows where Different-horned (Oecanthus varicornis) sightings have occurred.
MAR 1 – Species
Since most southern US border states will start seeing young tree crickets in late March, I thought this would be a good time in my year of blogging to introduce species. I want to offer photos or information on different species that are not otherwise on this website. Some photos will inevitably be duplicated…especially my personal favorites, but hopefully at least one viewer will have a lightbulb moment of recollection from a sighting in the past or a sudden interest in trying to find certain species. An occasional ‘that’s cool’ would also be nice.
I will begin with species found year-round (or nearly so) in the south, and work north.
