Cicada Mania

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

March 1, 2020

Orange Drummer (Thopha colorata) photos by Jodi

Filed under: Australia | Photos & Illustrations | Thopha | Thophini — Tags: — Dan @ 9:34 am

Orange Drummer (Thopha colorata) photos by Jodi from 2007. Australia.

Text for the photos from back in 2007: “Thanks to Jodi for allowing us to post some of her Orange Drummer (Thopha colorata) photos. Two today, two tomorrow! Apparently they’re hatching in droves in Central Australia.”

A molting Orange Drummer (Thopha colorata):
Molting T. colorata

Orange Drummer (Thopha colorata):
Orange Drummer (Thopha colorata)

Teneral, recently molted Orange Drummer (Thopha colorata):
Teneral Orange Drummer (Thopha colorata)

Teneral, recently molted Orange Drummer (Thopha colorata):
Orange Drummer (Thopha colorata)

March 2, 2019

Thopha saccata (Fabricius, 1803) aka Eastern Double Drummer

Filed under: Australia | Fabricius | Kevin Lee | Thopha | Thophini — Tags: — Dan @ 1:01 am

Thopha saccata is a cicada found in Australia. It is also known as the Eastern Double Drummer.

Photo by Dan Mozgai:
Double Drummer (Thopha saccata)

Photo by Kevin Lee:
Double Drummer (Thopha saccata)

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Thophini
Genus: Thopha
Species: Thopha saccata (Fabricius, 1803)

For more information about this cicada, visit A web guide to the cicadas of Australia by L. W. Popple.

March 1, 2019

Thopha colorata Distant, 1907

Filed under: Australia | Thopha | Thophini | W. L. Distant — Dan @ 1:01 am

Thopha colorata is a cicada found in Australia. It is also known as the Orange Drummer and W Bug because of the W on its back (mesonotum) (thanks David Emery).

Photo by Jodi:
Orange Drummer (Thopha colorata)
A gallery of more of Jodi’s photos.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Thophini
Genus: Thopha
Species: Thopha colorata Distant, 1907

For more information about this cicada, visit A web guide toThe cicadas of Australia by L. W. Popple.

February 28, 2019

Thopha sessiliba Distant, 1892

Filed under: Australia | Kees Green | Thopha | Thophini | W. L. Distant — Tags: — Dan @ 1:01 am

Thopha sessiliba is a cicada found in Australia. It is also known as the Northern Double Drummer.

Photo by Kees Green:
Thopha sessilibia by Kees Green

Thopha sessilibia by Kees Green

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Thophini
Genus: Thopha
Species: Thopha sessiliba Distant, 1892

For more information about this cicada, visit A web guide toThe cicadas of Australia by L. W. Popple.

October 24, 2018

Thopha sessiliba Distant, 1892

Filed under: Australia | Genera Insectorum | Thopha | Thophini | W. L. Distant — Tags: — Dan @ 8:20 pm

Thopha sessiliba Distant, 1892 is found in northern Austalia and is commonly known as the Northern Double Drummer. Like other members of the Thophini tribe, T. sessiliba has prominent sack-like tymbal covers, from which they get their common name “drummers”.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Thophini
Genus: Thopha
Species: Thopha sessiliba Distant, 1892

Thopha sessiliba Distant, 1892

Thopha genus description by W. L. Distant:

Characters. — Head short, broad, equal in width to apex of pronotum; eyes more or less pedunculated, prominent; ocelli four times more distant from eyes than from each other; apex of clavus acuminate; front destitute of a longitudinal sulcus; pronotum with the lateral margins almost truncate or slightly convex, widened forwardly; tegmina vitreous, basal area not twice longer than broad, interior ulnar area broadened towards apex; ulnar veins distant at base; wings vitreous, with six apical areas; opercula short, transverse; tympanal coverings very strongly developed and sac-like, projecting beyond the lateral abdominal margins in male.

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).

March 21, 2015

Better IDs for E.A. Seguy Cicada Illustrations

Filed under: Callogaeana | Cryptotympana | Hemisciera | Identify | Pop Culture | Tacua | Talainga | Thopha | Tosena | Zammara — Dan @ 8:30 am

The NCSU Libraries Rare and Unique Digital Collections website recently reminded the us of artist Eugene Alain (E.A.) Seguy’s insect illustrations. Seguy created these illustrations in the 1920’s, and as you might imagine, some of the cicada names cited in the notes for these illustrations have changed. Names typically change when cicadas are reclassified due to discoveries about their biology, or when we realize that someone else had actually named them earlier than the namer currently given credit.

Here are the two illustrations, the accompanying identification, and corrected identifications.

Illustration:

EA Seguy Cicada Art

Accompanying identification:

1. Tacua speciosa. Indes; 2. Polyneura ducalis. Indes Or.; 3. Cicada saccata. Australie; 4. Cicada fascialis. Siam; 5. Tozena melanoptera. Indes Or.

Corrected or expanded identification:

  1. Tacua speciosa. This is correct, although there are two subspecies of T. speciosa, I’m going to guess it is Tacua speciosa speciosa (Illiger, 1800) based on the location.
  2. Polyneura ducalis. This is correct. Polyneura ducalis Westwood, 1840.
  3. Cicada saccata. This is now: Thopha saccata (Fabricius, 1803).
  4. Cicada fascialis. This is now: Cryptotympana facialis facialis (Walker, 1858). Update: David Emery says this might be a Cryptotympana acuta (Signoret, 1849).
  5. Tozena melanoptera. Close enough. Tosena melanoptera melanoptera (White, 1846). There are a few unnamed subspecies.

Illustration:

EA Seguy Cicada Art

Accompanying identification:

1. Goeana festiva. Indes; 2. Zammara tympanum. Amérique du Sud; 3. Goeana ochracea. Indes; 4. Phenax variegata. Brésil; 5. Hemisciera maculipennis. Amazone

Corrected or expanded identification:

  1. Goeana festiva is actually Callogaeana festiva festiva (Fabricius, 1803).
  2. Zammara tympanum. This is correct. Zammara tympanum (Fabricius, 1803).
  3. Goeana ochracea is way off. It is a Talainga binghami Distant, 1890.
  4. Phenax variegata is not a cicada, is it a fulgoroid planthopper, but the id is correct.
  5. Hemisciera maculipennis is correct. Hemisciera maculipennis (de Laporte, 1832) aka the “Stop and Go” cicada, because its colors resemble the colors of a stop light.

December 24, 2013

Photos of Cicadas from Australia

Filed under: Australia | Cyclochila | Pauropsalta | Thopha — Tags: — Dan @ 12:53 pm

Kees Green sent us many photos of cicadas taken in Australia.

Here is a sample:

A Green Grocer (Cyclochila australasiae) nymph:

Green Grocer Cyclochila australasiae nymph by Kees Green

An unidentified Pauropsalta sp.:

Pauropsalta sp by Kees Green

A Thopha sessilibia:

Thopha sessilibia by Kees Green

More cicada images from Kees:

December 3, 2007

Orange Drummer cicadas

Filed under: Australia | Thopha — Tags: — Dan @ 12:53 pm

More Orange Drummer (Thopha colorata) photos from Jodi!

Orange Drummer

Orange Drummer

December 2, 2007

More cicadas from Australia: Orange Drummers

Filed under: Australia | Thopha — Tags: — Dan @ 12:48 pm

Thanks to Jodi for allowing us to post some of her Orange Drummer (Thopha colorata) photos. Two today, two tomorrow! Apparently they’re hatching in droves in Central Australia.

Orange Drummer

Orange Drummer

More photos of Jodi’s Orange Drummers.

December 1, 2007

Ozzie Cicadas: Emerging Thopha

Filed under: Australia | David Emery | Thopha — Tags: — Dan @ 12:09 pm

Here are some emerging Thopha, Thopha saccata a.k.a. Double Drummer (I think — not 100% sure), taken by David Emery.

Thopha saccata a.k.a. Double Drummer

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