Long-winged Cone-head
Conocephalus fuscus
The Long-winged Cone-head is a slender, predominantly green bush-cricket with a distinctive brown stripe along its back. Its wings extend significantly beyond the tip of the abdomen, distinguishing it from the Short-winged Cone-head. It prefers damp habitats such as tall herb fringes, reed beds, and wet meadows. In recent decades, it has significantly expanded its range northward in Central Europe due to climate warming.
Details
Identification
Green base color, brown longitudinal dorsal stripe, wings exceed the tip of the abdomen, female ovipositor straight and about body length.
Social behavior
Solitary; males attract females through high-frequency singing, which is often difficult for the human ear to detect.
Diet
Omnivorous; feeds on various grasses, pollen, and small insects such as aphids.
Hunting strategy
Ambush predator for small insects, otherwise opportunistic feeding on plant parts.
Spawning substrate
Pithy plant stems or stalks of grasses and sedges.
Overwintering
Overwintering as eggs within plant stems.
Ecology
Ecological role
Important part of the food chain as prey for birds and spiders and as a consumer of small insects.
Natural predators
Birds, orb-weaver spiders, robber flies, small mammals.
Competitor species
Short-winged Cone-head (Conocephalus dorsalis) in similar habitats.
Ecosystem service
Biological pest control by consuming aphids.
Threats
Destruction of wet meadows, drainage of bogs, intensive mowing of roadsides.
Scientific profile
Profile
Distinguishing features
Wings are long and clearly exceed the tip of the abdomen in both sexes. The ovipositor of the females is almost perfectly straight and, at 10-15 mm, approximately as long as the body. Males have straight cerci with a distinct tooth located around the middle of the inner side.
Habitat
Prefers moist to wet locations such as sedge marshes, reed beds, wet meadows, and tall herb fringes. Increasingly found in mesophilic habitats like fallow land, tall grass stands, and cereal fields.