Oblong-winged katydid

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List

not listed

NatureServe

NNR - Unranked

Minnesota

not listed

Description

Oblong-winged katydid is a long-horned, round-headed katydid (genus Amblycorypha). It occurs in eastern North America, Mexico, and Central America. In the United States it is common east of the Great Plains. It is found mostly in damp areas on trees, shrubs, and tall weeds in the understory of deciduous forests, at the edges of thickets, and in gardens.

At 1⅝″ to 2″ (42 to 52 mm) long, oblong-winged katydid is the largest round-headed katydid. Their overall color varies but is genetically inherited. The head, body, wings, and legs are usually leaf green, occasionally yellow, rarely tan, orange, brown, or pink.

The head is oval. The top of the head is rounded and strongly curved backward. The face is vertical. The eyes are oval. The antennae are very long and extend well beyond the tip of the abdomen. They are thread-like and have many segments. They are attached high on the face and far apart. The forehead projects forward between the antennae.

The pronotum does not have two small dark spots on each side. On each side the lateral lobe of the pronotum has a deep sinus at the rear upper corner (humeral angle).

The leathery forewings (tegmina) are elongated-oval and 3.1 to 4 times as long as wide. They are held roof-like over the body. A small area at the base of the wing is horizontal and very dark. On the male, this is the stridulatory field. There is a row of bumps (a file) on the underside of the upper wing and a sharp edge (blade) on the upper side of the lower wing. By rubbing the file against the blade, the male produces its distinctive song, a short, high-pitched, 9 kHz “zeee-dik!” that is repeated every few seconds. The female wings are similar but do not have these two sound-producing structures.

The hindwings are membranous, broad, and long. They are folded fan-like under the tegmina when at rest. They are longer than, and not completely covered by, the tegmina.

On the female the ovipositor is shorter than the abdomen, flattened, curved upward.

The front legs are short, the middle legs a little longer, the hind legs much longer. The third segment (femur) of the hind leg extends almost but not quite to the tips of the tegmina. The end section of the leg (tarsus), corresponding to the foot, has four segments.

Size

Total length: 1⅝″ to 2″ (42 to 52 mm)

Song

Similar Species

Habitat

Deciduous forests, gardens

Ecology

Season

One generation per year: June through September

Behavior

Life Cycle

Eggs are deposited in the soil.

Nymph Food

Plant juices

Adult Food

Leaves of deciduous plants

Distribution

Sources

24, 27, 30, 82, 83.

Amblycorypha oblongifolia (De Geer, 1773) in Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Abreu, C., Acero P, A., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (2026-07-17 XR). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgykv

Hebard, Morgan. (1932). The Orthoptera of Minnesota. University of Minnesota. Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station. Retrieved from the University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/204015.