Identification: Length 13–16 mm. Black mark on first antennal segment J-shaped or strongly curved toward inner side; vertex marked with orange (in fresh specimens).
Habitat: Crowns of broad-leaved trees; sometimes in understory trees and tangled undergrowth; occasionally on herbacous plants such as blackberry and goldenrod.
Season: Early August to mid-October in Ohio; mid May to December in north Florida. One generation a year in most of its range; two in north Florida. In south Florida, adults occur year round.
Song at 25°C: A melodious trill interrupted briefly at intervals of 5 sec or less. Interruptions are not synchronized, so when several males are calling the sound becomes continuous. Pulse rate 71/sec; frequency 3.0 kHz. Easily confused with the songs of two-spotted and Davis's tree crickets, but trills by these species are interrupted at longer intervals and have faster pulse rates.
Song data: See Walker 1962.
Similar species: Davis's tree cricket—black mark on first antennal segment straight; no orange on the vertex.
Remarks: Those delving into the scientific literature should be warned that the scientific name of this species, Oecanthus niveus, was mistakenly applied to O. fultoni (snowy tree cricket) prior to 1960.
References: Shull 1907; Fulton 1915, 1925; Allard 1930b; Walker 1962, 1967.
More information: genus Oecanthus, subfamily Oecanthinae.
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Oecanthus niveus, known generally as the narrow-winged tree cricket or snowy tree cricket, is a species of tree cricket in the family Gryllidae, which includes all crickets. First noted by Swedish Entomologist Charles de Geer in 1773 by a Pennsylvanian Specimen, it is found primarily in Eastern North America south of Canada, and also in the Caribbean.[1][2][3][4][5]
Adult O. niveus are typically 13-16mm in length. They are a pale green with a pale orange head, and feature a dark streak running medially along the pronotum. On top of the head is an orange cap.[5]
O. niveus can be found on broad-leaved trees, herbaceous plants, shrubbery, and in man-made orchards.[6]
Like other members of the genus Oecanthus, the song of the male narrow-winged tree cricket varies in pitch and beats per minute depending the temperature, with warmer temperatures resulting in more rapid calling at a higher pitch.[5] At 25°C, the pulse rate averages 71/sec at a frequency of 3.0 kHz.[7] Songs are most often heard at night in late summer and autumn.[5]
Oecanthus niveus, known generally as the narrow-winged tree cricket or snowy tree cricket, is a species of tree cricket in the family Gryllidae, which includes all crickets. First noted by Swedish Entomologist Charles de Geer in 1773 by a Pennsylvanian Specimen, it is found primarily in Eastern North America south of Canada, and also in the Caribbean.
