Oecanthus argentinus
This singing male Prairie tree cricket was found in southern Missouri.
Close up view of male Prairie tree cricket tegmina (wings).
View of metanotal gland which is only exposed with the wings are raised for singing.
The two black lines on the second antennal segment on this species touch each other, or nearly touch.
.Some Forbes’ and Black-horned tree crickets have similar looking thick markings. It is easy to separate Forbes’ from Prairies as Forbes’ has a faster song. However, Prairie and Black-horned have similar song rates and are more difficult to tell apart when the Black-horned has very little black coloring on the head, pronotum and limbs.
This adult male is missing a rear limb. It could have been detached when emerging from the stem, or lost from a near miss with a predator….but tree crickets manage well with only five limbs.
Young nymphs can also me mistaken as Forbes’ or Black-horned. They can also be mistaken for Four-spotted nymphs.
This Prairie tree cricket 4th instar has regularly spaced white markings in straight rows on its abdomen. Forbes’ and Black-horned have irregularly placed white markings.
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