Cicada Mania

Dedicated to cicadas, the most amazing insects in the world.

November 23, 2018

Champaka viridimaculata (Distant, 1889)

Filed under: Asia (Continent) | Borneo | Champaka | Dundubiini | Genera Insectorum | W. L. Distant — Tags: — Dan @ 1:01 am

Champaka viridimaculata (Distant, 1889) is a cicada found on Borneo (Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia). Viridimaculata means green spotted in Latin — perhaps that is a reference to the green coloring in the cells of the wings near its body.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Dundubiini
SubTribe: Dundubiina
Genus: Champaka
Species: Champaka viridimaculata (Distant, 1889)

Champaka viridimaculata (Distant, 1889)

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

Characters. — Head (including eyes) considerably broader than base of mesonotum, its length about equal to breadth between eyes, lateral margins of front and vertex almost obliquely in line; pronotum about as long as head, its lateral margins armed with a distinct medial spine ; mesonotum moderately tumid ; abdomen considerably longer than space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation ; tympana covered, tympanal coverings broader than long; opercula short. just reaching basal abdominal segment, laterally oblique and thus exposing the marginal areas of the cavities rostrum reaching the posterior coxae; anterior femora strongly spined beneath ; tegmina and wings hyaline, the first considerably longer than the body and with its greatest breadth considerably less than a third of its length; apical areas eight; basal cell longer than broad.

References:

  1. 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.
  2. Current species name verified using Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).

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).

November 7, 2018

Megapomponia merula (Distant, 1905)

Megapomponia merula (Distant, 1905) used to be know as Pomponia merula. Why did its genus change? Mega refers to the very large size of these cicadas. Michel Boulard created the Megapomponia Boulard, 2005 genus. Pomponia still exists (but those cicadas are smaller).

This cicada is found in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Dundubiini
SubTribe: Megapomponiina
Genus: Megapomponia
Species: Megapomponia merula (Distant, 1905)

Megapomponia merula (Distant, 1905)
The image says Pomponia merula, but the newest name of this cicada is Megapomponia merula.

Not quite Mega, but here’s the Pomponia genus description by W. L. Distant:

Characters. — Head (including eyes) about as wide as base of mesonotum, its length about or nearly equal to space between eyes, ocelli much farther apart from eyes than from each other, front anteriorly convex and slightly prominent; pronotum with the lateral margins moderately ampliate and sinuate, the posterior angles dilated, a little shorter than mesonotum; mesonotum with the disk moderately convex; abdomen in male longer than space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation; tympanal coverings complete; opercula in male short and transverse ; rostrum passing posterior coxae; anterior femora spined beneath; tegmina and wings hyaline, the first usually more or less maculate, basal cell longer than broad, apical areas eight.

References:

  1. 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.
  2. Current species name verified using Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).

October 29, 2018

Champaka aerata (Distant, 1888)

Filed under: Asia (Continent) | Borneo | Dundubia | Dundubiini | Genera Insectorum | W. L. Distant — Tags: — Dan @ 1:01 am

Champaka aerata (Distant, 1888) used to be called Dundubia aerata. Its name has changed since 1913.

It is found in Borneo.

Champaka  aerata (Distant, 1888)
The image says Dundubia aerata, but the newest name of this cicada is Champaka aerata.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Dundubiini
SubTribe: Dundubiina
Genus: Dundubia
Species: Dundubia aerata Distant, 1888

Dundubia genus description by W. L. Distant:

Characters. — Body long and robust; head somewhat triangularly elongate, about as long as pronotum, the front large and convex, about twice as broad at its base as the length of the anterior margins of the lobes of vertex, ocelli a little farther apart from eyes than from each other; pronotum almost as long as mesonotum, the lateral margins not prominently ampliated but distinctly toothed; abdomen a little longer than space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation; tympana completely covered; opercula in male long and extending beyond middle of abdomen; rostrum scarcely reaching the posterior coxas; anterior femora spined; tegmina and wings hyaline, the first with the venation normal, the apical areas eight in number, the basal cell twice as long as broad.

References:

  1. 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.
  2. Current species name verified using Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).

October 4, 2018

Megapomponia merula (Distant, 1905)

Filed under: Asia (Continent) | Dundubiini | Genera Insectorum | Indonesia | Megapomponia | W. L. Distant — Tags: — Dan @ 8:44 pm

Megapomponia merula (Distant, 1905) is a cicada found in Indonesia. Its name was once Pomponia merula, but recently, that changed.

There’s a dozen species in the Megapomponia Boulard, 2005 genus. “Mega” refers to their large size.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Dundubiini
SubTribe: Megapomponiina
Genus: Megapomponia
Species: Megapomponia merula (Distant, 1905)

Megapomponia merula (Distant, 1905)
The image says Pomponia merula but the cicada is now known as Megapomponia merula.

References:

  1. 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.
  2. Species name information/verification comes from Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).

October 2, 2018

Haphsa bindusara (Distant, 1881)

Filed under: Asia (Continent) | Burma | Dundubiini | Genera Insectorum | Haphsa | W. L. Distant — Dan @ 6:56 pm

Haphsa bindusara (Distant, 1881) was formerly known as Aola bindusara.Yes, its name has changed since 1913. Aola is no longer a genus, although the subtribe is still the similarly named Aolaria.

This cicada is found in Burma.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Dundubiini
SubTribe: Aolaria
Genus: Haphsa
Species: Haphsa bindusara (Distant, 1881)

Haphsa bindusara (Distant, 1881)
The image says Aola bindusara but this cicada is now known as Haphsa bindusara.

References:

  1. 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.
  2. Species name information/verification comes from Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).

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