British Insects: the Genera of Orthoptera
| British Insects: the Genera of Orthoptera | |
Xiphidion Serville.
Adults 11–18 mm long (C. dorsalis), or 16–22 mm long (C. discolor); usually green with brown wings and a brown stripe on the head and pronotum; the abdomen usually reddish brown beneath in C. discolor and yellowish brown in C. dorsalis, but sometimes all-brown in both species.
The antennae long, with well over 30 segments. The pronotum not dorsally keeled. Forewings well developed; greatly exceeding the abdomen when folded to about equalling the abdomen (in C. discolor), or about equalling the abdomen to much shorter than the abdomen (in C. dorsalis). Hindwings fully developed (in C. discolor), or reduced or vestigial (usually, in C. dorsalis). Foreleg tarsi 4 segmented; mid-leg tarsi 4 segmented; hindleg tarsi 4 segmented. The hind femora smooth. The ovipositor relatively long, with the valves articulated along their length and forming a single structure; 8–9 mm long (almost straight in C. discolor, slightly upcurved in C. dorsalis). The males stridulous. The sound production alary. Auditory organs located in the fore-tibiae. The male cerci with an inner tooth near the middle.
British representation. 2 species. Conocephalus discolor (Long-winged Cone-head), C. dorsalis (Short-winged Cone-head). Native. Northern England, East Anglia, Wales, southeast England, central southern England, southwest England, Isle of Wight, and Channel Islands (with C. discolor confined to southeast and central southern England).
Omnivorous but principally vegetarian (C. discolor feeding mainly on grasses but also eating aphids and small caterpillars, C. dorsalis mainly on buds, flowers and seed-heads of sedges and rushes); found outdoors in natural habitats (C. discolor occurs in various types of coarse herbaceous vegetation in warm localities, while C. dorsalis is found in coastal salt-marsh and sand dunes, and in wet and marshy places inland).
Classification. Suborder Ensifera; Superfamily Tettigonioidea; Conocephalidae.
Comments. The first and second tarsal segments laterally grooved.
Illustrations. • Conocephalus and Pholidoptera (Lucas). • Conocephalidae, Meconematidae, Phaneropteridae, Tettigoniidae: Burr.
To view illustrations with detailed captions, go to the interactive key. This also offers full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. British insects: the genera of Orthoptera. Version: 9th April 2007. http://delta-intkey.com’.
