Long-winged Cone-head, Conocephalus discolor

Identification

Body length, 15mm to 25mm (+) <10mm ovipositor. The wings of this species extend to, or typically well beyond, the tip of the abdomen.

Adults are grass green with a brown stripe covering the top of the head and thorax. The stripe is edged white on the thorax. The wings, which usually extend well beyond the tip of the abdomen, are brown. The ovipositor is mid brown. Brown forms of this species do occur and have been recorded from Plymouth. The original population, found in Plymouth at Mount Wise, was predominantly (70%) of the brown form. Of present populations in the City, only <10% are of the brown form. The long female ovipositor is virtually straight. Nymphs are bright green with a white-margined black stripe extending down the back from the top of the head to the tip of the abdomen. The larval ovipositor is black.

Behaviour and life history

Very similar to that of the Short-winged Cone-head, Conocephalus dorsalis, but, perhaps, not so gregarious and forming smaller more dispersed colonies in rough grassland. The two species have been recorded in a mixed population (sympatric) in a brackish toe ditch at Crabtree. It is largely vegetarian, feeding on grasses, but will eat other small invertebrates. Eggs are laid in late summer into the stems of grasses. After overwintering as eggs, the nymphs emerge from mid May onwards and reach maturity by the end of July.

Song

A soft, prolonged hissing buzz that carries little more than a metre or two. It is inaudible to many.

Where to look for it

This species favours rough grassland, wasteland and, in Plymouth at least, also occurs in brackish ditches. Accessible colonies can be founding Ham Valley Local Nature Reserve and Kings Tamerton Community Woodland.

Distribution and status

Very local and still rare within the city although it does seem to be expanding its range within Plymouth. The species was first discovered in Plymouth in the late 1990s at Mount Wise. At the same time another specimen was recorded from Crabtree but its identity was unconfirmed. The Mount Wise site has now been developed but the other populations appear to be fairly stable. The Long-winged Cone-head is a nationally notable species (Na).

When to look for it

Nymphs between mid May and late July; adults between July and late October.

Similar species

The brown coloured wings of this species separate it from the Great Green Bush-cricket, Tettigonia viridissima, and the Oak Bush-cricket, Meconema thalassima, which are the only other fully winged species in Plymouth.

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