Conocephalus dorsalis (Latreille, 1804)

Photos: Click on a thumbnail to see a larger picture.

Status: British Isles native species.

Description: Small, green bush cricket with a brown stripe along the back and brown wings. Unlike the Long-winged Conehead, this species usually has short wings that do not reach the end of the body.

Size: 11-18 mm

Wings: Normally short-winged (brachypterous). There is a macropterous form (f. burri Ebner) with both pairs of wings fully developed, which is mainly found in hot summers.

Stridulation: Two alternating sounds, a faint prolonged hiss or buzz and a rapid ticking (similar to Long-winged Conehead but quieter)

Recordings: Note, your ability to play these recordingsdepends upon the configuration of your computer and browser.

The Short-winged Conehead heard clearly with a bat detector and similar to the Long-winged Conehead
Source: Malcolm Lee

The Short-winged Conehead's long call is almost invariably interspersed with a brief section of slow down. Recorded with a bat detector.
Source: Malcolm Lee

Food: Omnivorous, but feeds mainly on seed heads, buds and flowers of grasses, rushes and sedges.

Habitat: Two distinct habitats: coastally on saltmarshes and sand dunes, particularly associated with maritime rushes and grasses; inland on lowland bogs, fens, reedbeds, river floodplains and by lakes and pools.

Phenology: Nymphs emerge in May and June. Adults present from July and August until mid-October.

Distribution: The records held by the National Biodiversity Network are shown in the map below.

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Only the following datasets are included:

• Biological Records Centre - Grasshopper and Cricket (Orthoptera) and related species records from Britain and Ireland to 2007

Other datasets on the gateway may hold additional information.