Conocephalus fasciatus
{{Short description|Species of cricket-like animal}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Slender meadow katydid
| image = Hough Conocephalus fasciatus.JPG
| image_caption =
| genus = Conocephalus
| parent = Conocephalus (Anisoptera)
| species = fasciatus
| authority = (De Geer, 1773)
}}
{{Commons category|Conocephalus fasciatus}}
Conocephalus fasciatus, the slender meadow katydid, is a species of katydid of the family Tettigoniidae that is native to the United States and Canada.{{Cite web|url=http://eol.org/pages/610394/details#physical_description|title=Slender Meadow Katydid - Conocephalus fasciatus - Details - Encyclopedia of Life|website=Encyclopedia of Life|language=en|access-date=2017-04-24}}
Habitat
Conocephalus fasciatus is commonly found year-round throughout the United States and in the southern parts of Canada. They are commonly found in grassy and weedy areas in a large range of habitats including pastures, open pine woods and roadsides.{{Cite book|title=Field guide to grasshoppers, katydids, and crickets of the United States|url=https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetogras00capi|url-access=limited|last=Capinera|first=John|last2=Scott|first2=Ralph|last3=Walker|first3=Thomas|publisher=Cornell University Press|year=2004|location=Ithaca, NY|pages=[https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetogras00capi/page/n180 181]–182}}
Diet
The diet of C. fasciatus mainly consists of grasses and grass seedheads, which are readily available in their habitats.{{Cite journal|last=Capinera|first=J. L.|last2=Scherer|first2=C. W.|last3=Simkins|first3=J. B.|date=1997-01-01|title=Habitat Associations of Grasshoppers at the Macarthur Agro-Ecology Research Center, Lake Placid, Florida|jstor=3495558|journal=The Florida Entomologist|volume=80|issue=2|pages=253–261|doi=10.2307/3495558|url=http://journals.fcla.edu/flaent/article/download/74762/72420|doi-access=free}}
Identification
It is a small, slender katydid with long, narrow wings that extend beyond its posterior. On average, C. fasciatus are 18–26 mm in length and are usually a combination of brown and green in color.{{Cite news|url=http://songsofinsects.com/katydids/slender-meadow-katydid|title=Slender Meadow Katydid|date=2013-10-22|work=Songs of Insects|access-date=2017-04-24|language=en-US}} In males, the cerci are green and have a stout tooth on the inner border as well as a tip that is weakly flattened. They have a straight ovipositor that is two-thirds the length of the hind femur. The Slender Meadow Katydid has a soft song that is a sequence of alternating ticks and buzzes that vary in duration from 1–20 seconds.