Conehead and Katydid Symphony
You can pick the key, and they'll ignore it.
It’s now been many years ago that we were introduced - up close and personal - to an insect known as a conehead (in this case, a Slightly Musical Conehead). And now we are back into the time of year when the coneheads and katydids (along with the crickets) create most of the evening and nighttime noise we get at the farm. Yes, sure, there are a few frogs and there have been some cicadas. An owl will occasionally make itself known as well. We might even scare up some Killdeer when we walk out to do the chores in the evening as well.
But the it’s the katydid and conehead symphony that is the highlight of the nighttime music - whether you like their song or not!
It’s still a bit early for the 'click-click' noise that we associate with the Oblong-winged Katydid - they usually get going when the calendar turns to September. I mention them because they are probably the member of the katydid/conehead family that Tammy and I have been most familiar with over the years. I have no idea when each of us learned that the clicking call was a katydid...but we've been pointing it out to each other for many years now.
Much of the melody (if you can call it that) is carried by the Slightly Musical Coneheads, like the one you see above. We mentioned these insects a several years ago and it was pointed out that we are supposed to be out of their reported range - but not by much. If you take the supplied link, you can visit the Song of Insects page bio for this insect. You can even hear a sample of its song.
Slightly Musical Coneheads favor wetlands, which explains why we haven’t heard much from them during drought years. We do live reasonably close to the Wapsipinicon River and Sweet Marsh, which would explain some “bleed over” in population with our farm. When we have a wet year, there is plenty of dampness to keep them happy.
Considering we have a visual evidence to go with the audible, I think the range maps might need to be updated. After all, with the various changes in climate and habitat, it makes sense that they have been moving north. Our records tell us they’ve been here at least ten years.
Our first exposure to these critters came on a day when I was harvesting lettuce and brought the tub in for soaking. I found a conehead sitting on top of the pile as we unloaded the tub from the cart. I made sure to take a photo after it agreed to pose and smile for the camera. I do not suppose most of our CSA members would have enjoyed having it pop out at them when they went to put some nice lettuce on a sandwich. It could also be disturbing to see it cleaning salad dressing off of its antennae while it was perched on a slice of cucumber sitting on your plate.
We also have a significant population of Nebraska Coneheads at our farm. While I haven’t been able to snap my own photo of one, their singing is pretty clear at night. On the other hand, I’ve seen very few of this insect. This is not surprising because Nebraska Coneheads use the strategy of dropping from their more prominent perches in 'weedy patches' into the litter at the base of the plants when they are disturbed. They make their escape from there. In contrast, the Slightly Musical Conehead apparently is willing to be found and held for the camera.
I've always thought the sound Round-Tipped Coneheads made was a cricket. But, if you visit the link, you might understand the confusion. I am still not certain I will be able to tell the difference between the two when I hear them, but it is interesting to know. I am also pretty sure I won't be able to tell these and the Nebraska Coneheads apart if I should see them. And, if I do see them, how should I greet them?
How should one speak politely with a conehead?
"Why, hello there. I see that you are not falling to the ground from your perch on the top of those grasses as I walk by. Is that because you would like a conversation? Or are you hoping I will be an audience for your next concert? Ah! I see, someone has played a prank on you and tied your antennae together and that has you just a bit discombobulated. Here, allow me to help you..."
Okay. Maybe that’s a bit of overkill. I get the feeling they’re not fond of human company and would prefer that I simply walk on by. That just might be the most proper approach to interacting with a conehead.
There are around 200 different types of katydids (coneheads are katydids) in North America. If you are interested in learning more, you can go here to learn more about their calls. And, if you are interested in observing things like coneheads and katydids and participating in citizen science, it has been suggested that iNaturalist is a good option.
This is one of the benefits of working on the farm. We get to observe all sorts of interesting things in the natural world. This year’s frog and toad activity has been a bit better than the last couple of drought years. However, they’re a bit less happy with the recent weather. I can tell you that I have a Leopard Frog friend in Valhalla (our larger high tunnel) who greets me most days. We have had a bit more Garter snake activity, including a slithery friend in the high tunnel. And, in recent years we have seen several fox snakes. In fact, one fox snake decided to help me with my work in the farm office a couple of years ago.
These are all critters we welcome on the farm. Some of them, like the snakes, frogs, toads, and bats find some of the pests to be tasty. We gladly co-habitate with them and even deliberately find ways to support habitat they like. Even if they didn’t eat pests that harm our crops, none of these animals do harm to us or our crops, so we are happy to see them add to the diversity of what is around us as we work outside.
Though I will admit that the office sharing snake might have crossed a boundary.
As far as katydids and coneheads are concerned, they are a bit of a "neutral entity" as far as our farm is concerned. Tammy and I used to think of katydids as a predator insect. But, thank goodness, the two of us realize that our understanding of the world around us is an evolving thing. We have learned that many tropical katydids are predators, but the coneheads in Iowa are omnivores - they can and will eat a mix of vegetation and invertebrates. Most species here prefer to eat leaves and grasses. They will also eat aphids and dead insects - so it might be more accurate to just call them opportunistic. On the other hand, they are not known to cause any sort of significant crop damage and they would prefer the grasses in the marsh or ditch to most anything we would grow.
I guess we'll accept any bonus aphid predation the coneheads and katydids can provide. Even it isn't much, we still welcome them as another sign of ecological diversity on our farm. Now, if we could get some praying mantids to thrive on our farm (something we still have yet to be able to do). That would be something.
Thank you for reading and considering my words. Have a fine remainder of your day!
http://songsofinsects.com/thumbnail-guide-to-species
I'll take a ladybug over a mantis any day - they're cuter. And mantises (is that proper plural?) eat hummingbirds. Just sayin.