Short-winged Conehead
Conocephalus dorsalis
The Short-winged Conehead is a slender, typically grass-green bush-cricket with a characteristic brown dorsal stripe. A distinctive feature is the significantly shortened wings in both sexes, which usually only reach the middle of the abdomen, although long-winged individuals occasionally occur. It prefers damp to wet habitats such as sedge marshes, reed beds, and wet meadows. The song of the males is very high-frequency and consists of a long-lasting, buzzing sound that is often difficult for the human ear to detect.
Details
Identification
Grass-green base color, brown longitudinal stripe on the pronotum and dorsal abdomen, wings shorter than the abdomen, females with an almost straight ovipositor (8-10 mm).
Social behavior
Solitary; males mark their territories with high-frequency singing.
Diet
Omnivorous; the diet includes grasses, pollen, as well as small insects such as aphids and their larvae.
Hunting strategy
Active searching and preying on small invertebrates combined with feeding on plant parts.
Spawning substrate
Pithy or hollow stems of rushes, sedges, or reeds.
Overwintering
Overwintering as eggs within the stems of wetland plants.
Ecology
Ecological role
Important consumer in wetlands and prey for birds and spiders.
Natural predators
Insectivorous birds, orb-weaver spiders, amphibians, and predatory invertebrates.
Competitor species
Long-winged Conehead (Conocephalus fuscus) in drier transition zones.
Ecosystem service
Contributes to the regulation of insect populations (e.g., aphids).
Threats
Drainage of wetlands, loss of reed beds, and intensive mowing.
Scientific profile
Profile
Distinguishing features
Short wings (brachypterous), reaching about half the abdomen length in females; females with a long, distinctly upward-curved ovipositor (8-11 mm); males with cerci bearing a strong internal tooth in the middle.
Habitat
Hygrophilous species of wetlands: bogs, sedge marshes, reed beds, silting zones, and damp fallow meadows with tall vegetation.
Diet
Omnivorous; feeds on grasses, herbs, and pollen as well as small insects such as aphids and caterpillars.
Role in food web
Primary and secondary consumer; serves as prey for birds (e.g., Red-backed Shrike), spiders, amphibians, and predatory insects.
Protection & threats
Main threats
Drainage of wetlands, intensive mowing, loss of riparian buffer zones, bog cultivation, and general habitat loss.
Population trend
Stable to slightly declining in intensively used areas; however, shows northward expansion trends due to climate warming.
Conservation measures
Preservation and restoration of wetlands, avoidance of drainage measures, late mowing dates (after August), and preservation of uncut grass strips.