Long-winged conehead - Conocephalus fuscus cyprius (Fabricius, 1793) = Endemic subspecies of Cyprus

See also

Λίστα με τα Ορθόπτερα της Κύπρου - ;LIst of Orthoptera of Cyprus

Family:Tettigoniidae

 Ενδημικό υποεΊδος της Κύπρου - Endemic subspecies of Cyprus

Conocephalus fuscus, the long-winged conehead, is a member of the family Tettigoniidae, the bush-crickets and is distributed through much of Europe and temperate Asia. This bush-cricket is native to the British Isles where it may confused with the short-winged conehead (Conocephalus dorsalis). These two species are phenotypically similar; however, the distinguishing factor between the two is the fully developed set of wings the long-winged conehead possesses that allows for flight. In the short-winged coneheads the hind wings are shorter than the abdomen, causing the wings to be vestigial and the species is incapable of flight. For this reason it is hard to discriminate between the two species during the early stages of their life cycle before the wings have fully developed. The colouration of the conehead is typically a grass green with a distinctive brown stripe down its back, though there are some brown phenotypes. 

Feeding

This species is omnivorous, though its diet is mostly vegetarian. The long-winged conehead feeds primarily on grasses as well as small invertebrates such as aphids and caterpillars.

Behaviour and reproduction

Conocephalus fuscus is active during the day, and their main form of locomotion is walking. However, they use their large hind legs for jumping when under threat of predation

Photos Athalassa  by George Konstantinou