Francis Walker (Page 3)

December 7, 2018

Terpnosia psecas (Walker, 1850)

Terpnosia psecas (Walker, 1850) is a cicada found in India, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Java (Indonesia).

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Psithyristriini
SubTribe: Psithyristriina [Psithyr means “whispering” in Greek]
Genus: Terpnosia
Species: Terpnosia psecas (Walker, 1850)

Terpnosia psecas (Walker, 1850)

Terpnosia genus description by W. L. Distant:

Characters. — Head about as long as breadth between eyes, deflected anteriorly, front not prominent; pronotum distinctly shorter than mesonotum, its lateral margins sinuate, with the posterior angles moderately lobalety produced; abdomen in male longer than space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation; tympanal coverings both narrower and shorter than tympanal cavities; opercula in male short and transverse, usually not or scarcely extending beyond base of abdomen; anterior femora spined beneath; tegmina and wings hyaline, the first usually more or less maculate, with eight apical areas, and the basal cell longer than broad; wings with six apical areas.

References:

The illustration and description comes from the journal Genera Insectorum, and a specific article from 1914 by W. L. Distant titled Homoptera. Fam. Cicadidae, Subfam, Gaeaninae. Read it on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website.
Species name verification comes from Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).

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December 6, 2018

Lethama locusta (Walker, 1850)

Lethama locusta (Walker, 1850) is a cicada found in India.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Dundubiini
SubTribe: Cosmopsaltriaria
Genus: Lethama
Species: Lethama locusta (Walker, 1850)

Lethama locusta (Walker, 1850)

Lethama genus description by W. L. Distant in Genera Insectorum, 1914:

Characters – lead horizontal, As long as space between eyes, not anteriorly deflected, front very prominent, margins of front and ver/ex obliquely sub-continuous; pronotum as long as mesonotum, its lateral margins oblique, sinuate, obscurely dentate; abdomen considerably longer than space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation; tympana imperfectly covered, the flaps shorter and narrower than the tympanal cavities; rostrum about reaching the posterior coxae; anterior femora armed beneath with two or three strong spines; opercula extending to more than half the length of the abdomen, sinuate, wide apart and on the lateral abdominal areas; tegmina broad, their greatest breadth more than one-third of their length, apical areas eight, basal cell much longer than broad.

References:

The illustration and description comes from the journal Genera Insectorum, and a specific article from 1914 by W. L. Distant titled Homoptera. Fam. Cicadidae, Subfam, Gaeaninae. Read it on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website.
Species name verification comes from Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).

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November 30, 2018

Cosmopsaltria capitata Distant, 1888

Cosmopsaltria capitata Distant, 1888 is found in Paupa (Indonesia).

Its name changed from Fatima capitata to Cosmopsaltria capitata probably when the Fatima Distant, 1905 genus was merged into the Cosmopsaltria Stål, 1866 genus.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Cosmopsaltriini
SubTribe: Cosmopsaltriaria
Genus: Cosmopsaltria
Species: Cosmopsaltria capitata Distant, 1888

Cosmopsaltria capitata Distant, 1888
The image says Fatima capitata, but the newest name of this cicada is Cosmopsaltria capitata.

Have fun comparing the Fatima genus description…

Characters. — Head (including eyes) about equal in breadth to base of mesonotum, as long as breadth between eyes, its lateral margins very irregular, the anterior lateral margins of the vertex being almost at right angles to the face; pronotum little more than half the length of mesonotum ; abdomen above as long as space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation ; anal abdominal segment in male apically acutely dentate on each side; tympana covered, the tympanal coverings in male projecting a little beyond the lateral abdominal margins; rostrum passing the posterior coxae ; opercula in male broad, just or longly passing the middle of the abdomen, either concavely sinuate on each side or slightly and obsoletely sinuate, their apices rounded or obliquely truncate; tegmina and wings subhyaline, the first broad, their greatest breadth more than one third of their length.

… to the Cosmopsaltria genus description by W. L. Distant in Genera Insectorum, 1913:

Characters. — Body moderately long and robust, head as long as breadth between eyes, and including eyes as wide as base of mesonotum, with the front not twice as broad at base as anterior margins of the lobes of vertex, lateral margins obliquely continuous to front or very slightly sinuate; pronotum about as long as head, its lateral margins scarcely ampliated, but distinctly toothed or angulated; mesonotum slightly longer than pronotum ; abdomen short, about as long as space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation; tympana covered; opercula in male broad, either just or longly passing middle of abdomen, well separated and not overlapping, more or less concavely sinuate on each side at basal areas, their apices rounded or obliquely truncate; rostrum reaching, sometimes passing, the posterior coxae; tegmina and wings hyaline; greatest breadth of tegmina about a third of length, venation normal, basal cell much longer than broad.

References:

The illustration and genus description comes from the journal Genera Insectorum, and a specific article from 1913 by W. L. Distant titled Homoptera. Fam. Cicadidae, Subfam, Cicadinae. Read it on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website.
Current species name verified using Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).

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November 25, 2018

Diceropyga junctivitta (Walker, 1868)

Diceropyga junctivitta (Walker, 1868) is a cicada found on the Ternate island of Indonesia.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Cosmopsaltriini
SubTribe: Cosmopsaltriaria
Genus: Diceropyga
Species: Diceropyga junctivitta (Walker, 1868)

Diceropyga junctivitta (Walker, 1868)

Diceropyga genus description by W. L. Distant in Genera Insectorum, 1913:

Characters. — Head distinctly shorter than breadth between eyes, including eyes about as wide as base of mesonotum, ocelli close together at center of vertex; face longer than broad, sides somewhat obliquely rounded; rostrum reaching posterior coxae; pronotum shorter than mesonotum, its lateral margins moderately dentate; mesonotum including basal cruciform elevation about as long as head and pronotum together; abdomen as long or longer than space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation, anal abdominal segment in male apically acutely dentate or with a broad obtuse process on each side; tympana completely covered; opercula elongate, broad, nearly meeting at their inner margins, more or less sinuate at their basal areas; tegmina and wings hyaline, tegmina about three times as long as broad, apical areas eight ; wings with six apical areas; anterior femora spined beneath.

References:

The illustration and genus description comes from the journal Genera Insectorum, and a specific article from 1913 by W. L. Distant titled Homoptera. Fam. Cicadidae, Subfam, Cicadinae. Read it on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website.
Current species name verified using Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).

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November 21, 2018

Ayesha serva (Walker, 1850)

Ayesha serva (Walker, 1850) is a cicada found in the Philipines and on Borneo (Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia), and Korea?

This one is interesting. Back when Distant wrote the Homoptera. Fam. Cicadidae, Subfam, Cicadinae. found in Genera Insectorum, 1932, there were two cicada species: Ayesha serva, found in the Philipines and Borneo, and Ayesha spathulata found in Korea. Today both species are unified under Ayesha serva. There’s a large distance between Korea and Borneo, so this makes me wonder, was A. serva actually ever in Korea, or are they two different cicadas?

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Dundubiini
SubTribe: Dundubiina
Genus: Ayesha
Species: Ayesha serva (Walker, 1850)

Ayesha serva (Walker, 1850)
The image says Ayesha spathulata, but the newer name of this cicada is Ayesha serva.

Ayesha genus description by W. L. Distant from Genera Insectorum, 1913:

Characters. — Head (including eyes) as wide or a little wider than base of mesonotum, much shorter than breadth between eyes, lateral margins obliquely continuous to face or very slightly sinuate, eyes large and oblique; pronotum shorter than mesonotum, its lateral margins angulated anteriorly; mesonotum moderately convexly tumid; abdomen short, not longer than space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation; tympanal coverings about as long as broad; rostrum reaching the intermediate coxae; opercula in male long, about twice as broad at apex as at base, inner .margins concave, widening to basal area, outer margins sinuate near centre, their apices broad overlapping;tegmina and wings hyaline, greatest width of tegmina about one third their length.

The illustration and genus description comes from the journal Genera Insectorum, and a specific article from 1913 by W. L. Distant titled Homoptera. Fam. Cicadidae, Subfam, Cicadinae. Read it on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website.

Current species name verified using Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).

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November 9, 2018

Basa singularis (Walker, 1858)

Basa singularis (Walker, 1858) is a cicada found in India.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Psithyristriini
SubTribe: Psithyristriina
Genus: Basa
Species: Basa singularis (Walker, 1858)

Basa genus description by W. L. Distant:

Characters. — Head with front prominent and produced, its lateral margins at right angles with anterior margins of vertex, its breadth between eyes much narrower than base of mesonotum. its length about equal to that of pronotum; pronotum a little shorter than mesonotum, its lateral margins convex anteriorly and concavely sinuate before posterior angles, which are ampliated; abdomen much longer than space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation, its lateral areas obliquely depressed above; beneath with the disk somewhat flat and the marginal areas obliquely directed upward; tympanal flaps shorter, but not narrower than tympanal cavities; opercula transverse and just passing base of abdomen; anterior femora strongly spined beneath near apex; anterior tibiae longer than femora, anterior tarsi more than half the length of tibiae; tegmina and wings long and narrow, greatest width of the first only equal to a third of length, its basal cell much longer than broad, fourth ulnar area much compressed at base of third, apical areas eight.

References:

The illustration and description comes from the journal Genera Insectorum, and a specific article from 1914 by W. L. Distant titled Homoptera. Fam. Cicadidae, Subfam, Gaeaninae. Read it on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website.
Species name verification comes from Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).
Tribe information comes from: MARSHALL, DAVID C. et al.A molecular phylogeny of the cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) with a review of tribe and subfamily classification.Zootaxa, [S.l.], v. 4424, n. 1, p. 1—64, may 2018. ISSN 1175-5334. Available at: https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4424.1.1

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November 3, 2018

Oncotympana nigristigma (Walker, 1850)

Oncotympana nigristigma (Walker, 1850) used to be called Dokumu nigristigma (now its a junior synonym). Yes, its name has changed since 1913!

This cicada is found in the Philippines.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Oncotympanini
SubTribe: Oncotympanina
Genus: Oncotympana
Species: Oncotympana nigristigma (Walker, 1850)

Oncotympana nigristigma (Walker, 1850)

Oncotympana genus description by W. L. Distant:

Characters. — Head (including eyes) nearly as wide or distinctly narrower than base of mesonotum, its length about or nearly equal to space between eyes; pronotum considerably shorter than mesonotum, its lateral margins a little convex, its posterior angles ampliated; mesonotum large, convex; abdomen in male short, broad, about as long as space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation; tympanal coverings very globose and projecting beyond the lateral abdominal margins; opercula m male short, transverse, with their disks a little convex; anterior femora spined beneath; rostrum passing the posterior coxae ; tegmina and wings hyaline, the first usually more or less maculate, apical areas eight, venation normal.

References:

The illustration and genus description comes from the journal Genera Insectorum, and a specific article from 1913 by W. L. Distant titled Homoptera. Fam. Cicadidae, Subfam, Cicadinae. Read it on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website.
Current species name verified using Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).

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October 30, 2018

Arenopsaltria fullo (Walker, 1850)

Arenopsaltria fullo (Walker, 1850) was formerly known as Henicopsaltria fullo. Yes, its name has changed since 1913. It was moved to a new genus. The Henicopsaltria genus still exists.

Arenopsaltria fullo is found in Australia.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Arenopsaltriini
SubTribe: ?
Genus: Arenopsaltria
Species: Arenopsaltria fullo (Walker, 1850)

Arenopsaltria fullo (Walker, 1850)
The image says Henicopsaltria fullo, but the newest name of this cicada is Arenopsaltria fullo.

References:

The illustration and genus description comes from the journal Genera Insectorum, and a specific article from 1913 by W. L. Distant titled Homoptera. Fam. Cicadidae, Subfam, Cicadinae. Read it on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website.
Current species name verified using Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).
Tribe information comes from: MARSHALL, DAVID C. et al.A molecular phylogeny of the cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) with a review of tribe and subfamily classification.Zootaxa, [S.l.], v. 4424, n. 1, p. 1—64, may 2018. ISSN 1175-5334. Available at: https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4424.1.1

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October 10, 2018

Kongota punctigera (Walker, 1850)

Kongota punctigera (Walker, 1850). Found in south-east Africa, specifically the nation of South Africa. Remarkable wing shape!

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Platypleurini
Genus: Kongota
Species: Kongota punctigera (Walker, 1850)

Kongota punctigera (Walker, 1850)

Kongota genus description by W. L. Distant:

Characters. — Head (including eyes) about as wide as base of mesonotum, anteriorly subtruncate, deflected in front of eyes ; pronotum transverse, its posterior margin about half the length of its vertex, the lateral margins ampliately and subangulately produced, their apices extending to about the base of basal cell of tegmina; mesonotum about as long as pronotum; anterior femora basally and subapically tuberculously spinous; posterior tibiae with a few spines on apical area; metasternum elevated and centrally sulcate; tympanal coverings moderate in size; opercula short and broad, their apices more or less convexly rounded; rostrum reaching the posterior coxae; tegmina with the costal membrane much arched at base and dilated, broader than the costal area, basal cell very broad; ulnar veins widely separated at their bases.

References:

The illustration and genus description comes from the journal Genera Insectorum, and a specific article from 1913 by W. L. Distant titled Homoptera. Fam. Cicadidae, Subfam, Cicadinae. Read it on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website.
Current species name verified using Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).

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October 6, 2018

Platypleura polydorus (Walker, 1850)

Platypleura polydorus (Walker, 1850). Found in Sub-Saharan, West, South and East Africa. Platypleura has a remarkable, angular pronotal collar like other members of the Platypleurini tribe.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Platypleurini
Genus: Platypleura
Species: Platypleura polydorus (Walker, 1850)

Platypleura polydorus (Walker, 1850)

Platypleura genus description by W. L. Distant:

Characters. — Body robust. somewhat short; abdomen in male about as long as space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation; head broad, truncate anteriorly, including eyes a little or scarcely broader than base of mesonotum, ocelli about twice and sometimes thrice the distance from eyes as from each other, face moderately convex not prominent above; pronotum with the lateral margins ampliated or laminately medially angulate ; anterior femora not prominently spined; metasternum with a Central elevated plate-like process, which is centrally sulcated and posteriorly somewhat sinuately truncate; tympana practically concealed by the tympanal flaps or coverings; opercula in male short, broad, their apices more or less convexly rounded ; tegmina and wings either hyaline or more or less opaquely coloured, tegmina with the basal cell a little longer than broad, the coastal membrane only moderately dilated or arched at base, apical areas eight in number. Oxypieura, Amyot & Serville, merely includes species with hyaline non-opaque tegmina and wings: Pcecilopsaltria, Stal was regarded as distinct from Platypleura by the slightly greater width of the head including eyes ; this form being more dominant in the Oriental Region, while the character of typical Platy pleura is a marked feature in the Ethiopian species.

References:

The illustration and genus description comes from the journal Genera Insectorum, and a specific article from 1913 by W. L. Distant titled Homoptera. Fam. Cicadidae, Subfam, Cicadinae. Read it on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website.
Species name information/verification comes from Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).

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