Broad-Tipped Conehead

bugman

December 14th, 2008 at 1:17 pm

Categories

Katydids

Tan grasshopper/locust with 2-tones eyes, and a fishlike face.
Sat, Dec 13, 2008 at 6:54 PM
I discovered this grasshopper-like insect clinging to one of the leaves of a potted snake plant next to my front door yesterday afternoon. It moved lithargicly and only after it got annoyed with me taking it’s photograph. I’ve never seen a grasshopper with this fish-like face and white and green eyes. Can you help me identify what this is?
Ray Smith
Jacksonville, FL USA

Broad-Tipped Conehead

Hi Ray,
This isn’t a grasshopper. It is a Katydid in the group known as Coneheads. We believe it is a Broad-Tipped Conehead, Neoconocephalus triops. You can compare images and get additional information on BugGuide. We will contact a specialist, Piotr Naskrecki, to substantiate or refute our identification.

Broad-Tipped Conehead

Hi Daniel,
Yes, this indeed looks like a male Neoconocephalus triops.
Cheers,
Piotr

Female Florida Conehead (June 30, 2008)
Female Conehead (December 27, 2007)
Mating Broad-Nosed Weevils (October 8, 2008)
Immature Broad Headed Bug (November 4, 2008)
Conehead Katydid from Africa (March 14, 2009)

Comments 1

Dave wrote:
Edible,

When I ordered some wild-caught orthoptera from the Everglades area of South Florida, some of these katydids came with the assortment of other species. Quite tasty, too.
Though I should add that I’ve recently read about a fatal case of grasshopper consumption. The culprit was an African specimen in the genus Phymateus. That one featured aposematic coloration, quite unlike the katydid pictured here.

Best,
Dave
http://www.slshrimp.com
Posted 15 Dec 2008 at 10:38 pm ¶