Conehead & Katydid Symphony

 A few years ago, 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 crickets 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.

There is a 'click-click' type of noise that we associate with the Oblong-winged Katydid - but we have not too many of them yet this year.  It seems like they get going around here about this time and then are more audible as we approach and go into September.  This is 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.

Most of the noise is coming from the Slightly Musical Coneheads, like the one you see above.  We mentioned these insects a couple of years ago at this time and it was pointed out that we are supposed to be out of their reported range - but not by much.  And considering we have a visual 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 are moving this way.

Our first exposure to these critters came on a day when I was harvesting lettuce and brought the tub in for soaking.   I found this critter sitting on top as he unloaded the tub from the cart and took 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 is perched on a slice of cucumber sitting on your plate.

We also have a significant population of Nebraska Coneheads.  While we haven't laid eyes on them personally, their singing is pretty clear at night.  This also should not surprise us 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 can be found and held for the camera.

I've always thought the sound Round-Tipped Coneheads make 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?  What is polite to 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..."

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.  Lately, we've seen more frog and toad activity - that picked up after we got four plus inches of rain a week or so ago.  We saw more Garter snake activity in the late Spring than we have some years at the farm and there are often fox snakes.  In fact, one fox snake decided to help me with my work in the farm office this year.

These are all critters we welcome on the farm in part because they do find some of the pests to be tasty.  Even if that were not the case, none of these animals do any 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 admit that the office sharing snake will have its access removed in the near future.

As far as katydids and coneheads are concerned, they are a bit of a "neutral entity" as far as our farm is concerned.  While Tammy and I used to think of katydids as a predator insect, we learned that many tropical katydids are predators, but the coneheads in Iowa are an omnivore.  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 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.