Family CICADIDAE

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Introduction

This family includes all extant cicada species except two. It is a cosmopolitan family, although most species are tropical or subtropical in distribution. Adults are diurnal or crepuscular.

The Cicadidae are characterised by having tymbals in males only or sometimes absent, tympana present, males with an abdomen substantially cavernous forming a resonant chamber, a forewing venation with Rs arising from node near or beyond middle of costa, and veins 1A and 2A concurrent for most of their length, a nervous system with all ganglia fused, male genitalia without harpagones, tarsal empodia absent, and a pronotum not concealing the majority of mesonotum (Moulds 1990).

The tymbals are used by males to produce loud, calling songs. No other insects have developed such an effective and specialised means of sound production. Rapid buckling of the ribbed tymbal membrane produces sound pulses which are amplified by a substantially hollow abdomen that acts as a resonating chamber. Differences in tymbal structure and movement, abdominal resonance, and abdominal movements are responsible for the song characteristics unique to each species. Moulds (1990) summarises acoustic signalling mechanisms in cicadas and Ewart (1989, 2001) discussed song patterns for Australian cicadas.

The genus Abricta Stål, 1866 is excluded from the Australian fauna (Moulds 2003).

Tribe classification follows Marshall et al. (2018).

Excluded Taxa

Misidentifications

CICADIDAE: Abricta Stål, 1866 — Moulds, M.S. 2003. An appraisal of the cicadas of the genus Abricta Stål and allied genera (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadidae). Records of the Australian Museum 55: 245-304

Cicadidae: Cicadetta Kolenati, 1857 — Moulds, M.S. 2012. A review of the genera of Australian cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadoidea). Zootaxa 3287: 1-262 [73, 75]

ID Keys

https://idtools.dpi.nsw.gov.au/keys/cicada/index.html

General References

Ewart, A. 1989. Revisionary notes on the genus Pauropsalta Goding and Froggatt (Homoptera: Cicadidae) with special reference to Queensland. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 27(2): 289-375

Ewart, A. 2001. Dusk chorusing behaviour in cicadas (Homoptera: Cicadiidae) and a mole cricket, Brisbane, Queensland. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 46(2): 499-510

Marshall, D.C., Moulds, M., Hill, K.B.R., Price, B.W., Wade, E.J., Owen, C.L., Goemans, G., Marathe, K., Sarkar, V., Cooley, J.R., Sanborn, A.F., Kunte, K., Villet, M.H. & Simon, C. 2018. A molecular phylogeny of the cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) with a review of tribe and subfamily classification. Zootaxa 4424(1): 1-64

Moulds, M.S. 1990. Australian Cicadas. Kensington : New South Wales University Press 217 pp.

Moulds, M.S. 2003. An appraisal of the cicadas of the genus Abricta Stål and allied genera (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadidae). Records of the Australian Museum 55: 245-304

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