Meconema meridionale (Southern oak bush cricket)♀︎♂︎

Last update: 5 February 2021


Common

SPECIES: Southern oak bush cricket (Meconema meridionale)
GENUS MECONEMA
FAMILY TETTIGONIIDAE (Bush crickets)



OBSERVATION:
2019-VI-232018-IX-012016-V-27

YEARS:
201620182019

MONTHS:
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec


1. PHOTO GALLERY

 

2. BEHAVIOUR

 

3. APPEARANCE

This species arrived in the Netherlands around 1980 and its original spreading has been related to hicking on motorized vehicles. According to Waarneming.nl2 this species has spread throughout the Netherlands.

4. DeterminatiON

This grasshopper is easily recognizable:

  1. a white-yellow stripe across head, thorax and abdomen
  2. seen from above the thorax has two brown spots near the lateral edge
  3. the front wings are very short and have clearly visible structure on them
  4. the hind wings are shorter than the front wings and not visible
  5. the head is pointy between the antennae

Genders can be recognized from:

            6. the female has an ovipositor
            7. the male has very long cerci with a point at the end

Determination characteristics – female Southern oak bush cricket

Determination characteristics – male Southern oak bush cricket

Species that look similar

This species resembles the Oak bushcricket (Meconema thalassinum), but that species has wings1. The nymphs of these two species are similar and in this case too the wings are a differentiating factor as the wings of M. meridionale are reversed. The hind wings have a characteristic parallel artery pattern1.

5. DIMENSIONS
(mm)
Length 11,0 – 13,0 11,5 – 16,0
Front wing
1,5 – 2,0 1,2 – 2,0
 
6. OBSERVATIONS

Combined observations over years:

  jan feb mar apr may jun jul aug sep oct nov dec
                1      
                  1    


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