Chremistica ochracea

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Chremistica ochracea
Chremistica ochracea (27191772312).jpg
Chremistica ochracea emerging from its exuvia and waiting for the wings to harden for its first flight.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Hemiptera
Family:
Cicadidae
Genus:
Chremistica
Species:
C. ochracea
Binomial name
Chremistica ochracea
(Walker, 1850)

Chremistica ochracea (Walker, 1850) is a species of cicada in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, which includes cicadas, leafhoppers, planthoppers, treehoppers, froghoppers and spittlebugs. They are usually referred to as 'thin winged cicada' [1] [2] in Taiwan and 'peaceful cicada' in China due to their abundance in these areas. [2] They can be identified by their green appearance with thin, greenish, transparent wings [2] and are heavily distributed in China, Taiwan, Japan, India and Malaya. [3] However, there are limited number of scientific papers that describe the characteristics and behaviour of this species in detail.

Contents

They are also used to be known as Rihana ochracea which was introduced by Distant (1904), claiming Rihana as a new genus. Genus Rihana however, was also known as a subgenus of Cicada Linnaeus and to some species from Cicada Stål , Chremistica Stål and Diceroprocta Stål. [3]

Characteristics

The operculum can be seen clearly on this cicada (not Chremistica ochracea). It is round and greenish, located on the abdomen, close to the thorax. CicadaPruinescence.JPG
The operculum can be seen clearly on this cicada (not Chremistica ochracea). It is round and greenish, located on the abdomen, close to the thorax.

Based on diagnosis on all Chremistica species erected by Stål in 1870, their eyes are small or medium-sized, very prominent laterally and set widely apart on their triangular head with the piece of frontoclypeus anteriorly prominent. Its tymbal is completely covered with tymbal covering. By looking at the abdomen, the 8th tergum will appear much longer than the 7th tergum in median length. Their femurs on the forelegs have two big spines with several small spines on the ventral part of the forelegs. The operculum of males are longitudinal and overlapped each other but not exceeding the posterior margin of the third abdominal sternum. In most cases, the apex of the operculum is broadly rounded and can be obviously seen by the naked eye. [2]

Last molting of a cicada from its exuvia (not C. ochracea) giving rise to a winged imago. Cicada molting animated-2.gif
Last molting of a cicada from its exuvia (not C. ochracea) giving rise to a winged imago.

Some of these species may have light green, earthy red or yellow (ochreous) coloured body. [2] [4] A transverse black fascia can be seen along its anterior head margin [2] [4] and black markings on margin of each ocellus near to its castaneous eyes. [2] Their ventral side can appear powdery or scaly (pollinosity) white on a pale ochreous or pale green body surface. Similar to majority of other cicadas, their wings are translucent and glassy (hyaline) without any darkening marks or tinge (infuscation). A full adult cicada, or also known as an imago, can grow up to 31 mm (1.2 in) in body length for males, 24.4 mm (0.96 in) for female cicadas. Their total length however, can reach up to 45 mm (1.8 in) for male cicadas and 43 mm (1.7 in) for females. [2]

Cicadas of the genus Chremistica are placed in the tribe Tibicenini along with Tibicen Latreille, Cryptotympana Stål, Anapsaltoda Ashton and Neopsaltoda Distant. According to entomologist Hayashi (1987), the genera under the tribe Tibicenini share the same sound-production characteristics, external morphology and male genitalia, allowing them to be classified under the same monophyletic group. [3]

Chremistica pontianaka seen resting on a branch in Malaysia. They are very different to Chremistica ochracea due to their dark coloured body and dark red eyes, also the transparent or hyaline wings but with a darker outline. Cicada (Chremistica pontianaka) (8441840872).jpg
Chremistica pontianaka seen resting on a branch in Malaysia. They are very different to Chremistica ochracea due to their dark coloured body and dark red eyes, also the transparent or hyaline wings but with a darker outline.

Regarding grouping, Chremistica ochracea is placed under the pontianaka group due to their external morphology similarity and characteristics of the male genitalia. [3] The researchers have come to a conclusion that cicadas under the pontianaka group are absent with arc-shaped lateral clasper lobes. Their medial and lateral clasper lobes however, are well developed when compared to other cicada species. [3]

Biology

Cicada sound-producing organs and musculature. a, Body of male from below, showing cover-plates (operculum); b, From above, showing drumlike tymbals; c, Section, muscles that vibrate tymbals; d, A tymbal at rest; e, Tymbal thrown into vibration, as when singing. EB1911 cicada tymbal structure.png
Cicada sound-producing organs and musculature.a, Body of male from below, showing cover-plates (operculum); b, From above, showing drumlike tymbals; c, Section, muscles that vibrate tymbals; d, A tymbal at rest; e, Tymbal thrown into vibration, as when singing.

This species is commonly found in the lowlands and low montane areas of Taiwan, the Oriental region and America. [2] Some are also seen in parts of Peninsular Malaysia. [2] They are reported to be more abundant in plantation areas and fragmented forests of Taiwan, but not much in continuous forests. C. ochracea cicadas are reported to emerge earlier than other cicada species that are found in the same areas, including their nymphs. This suggests that they are a highly adaptive species with a high survival rate. This is also consistent with their wide variety of use (as food source, habitat, exuviation process) in host plants, as they are less choosy as compared to other cicada species. [5]

Their exuviae (singular exuvia), which are the outer cast-off skin, can be found in large numbers after a rainy season. [5] This due to the fact that the survival of hatching cicada eggs positively correlates to increasing humidity. [6] The exuviae are usually found on barks of trees and the position or height above the ground is influenced by the size of the nymphs. It is suggested that nymphs with a larger body size have better water content thus allowing them to climb higher and longer with the advantage of reduced transpiration due to their smaller surface area to volume ratio. [5]

The adult species are actively found in April to September, where males will sing to attract the females around their area. The male singing sounds like a chorus, starting with one male then followed by the males in the nearby area, and the song will finish at the same time. [2] This ritual usually happens in the evening, often during the early season. Adult cicadas are seen active during the day, usually spotted sitting on twigs in the month of June and July, and are known to be very attracted to light during night time, similar to the behaviour of moths and other flying insects at night. The chirping/buzzing sound is only produced by adult males and the sound is monotonous with a continuous buzzing. The male singing will normally last from tens of seconds to a few minutes and finishes at once. [2]

Use in research

Noise pollution

As cicadas use loud, distinct callings to attract their mates, they are sometimes used to study the impact of noise pollution to the wild. They are hypothesised to have adapted to the noise from urban environments (sounds produced by motor vehicles, industrial economy, constructions or even loud music), but more understanding of how anthropogenic noise affecting these insects are needed. A study was carried out by comparing the number of cicada species and measuring each of their calling activity pattern and acoustic features between the city areas and mountain areas of Taiwan using automated digital recording systems. They found out that there are a lesser number of cicada species in the urban environment, which correlates to the higher levels of anthropogenic noise, as compared to the findings from the mountain site. This suggests that there are fewer species that can tolerate anthropogenic noise, thus more cicada species prefer to inhibit mountain areas than the city areas for a better chance of reproduction and survival. The lower number of species in the urban landscapes however, gives advantage to the cicadas in the urban environment as they experience lesser inter-specific masking affect, hence their songs are less likely to be overlapped, not heard or confused by the female cicadas. [7] Although cicadas from the different environments experienced different anthropogenic and inter-specific noise pressures, they both possess close partitioning strategy. It is reported that there are low spectral overlap in both environments, thus partitioning the frequency domain are used by the cicadas to reduce the masking interference. [7]

Mercury levels in soil

In another study, C. ochracea was collected to measure mercury levels in terrestrial subtropical forested systems (air, soil and biomass) in Southwest China. [8] This is because insects can easily accumulate heavy metals in their body, due to their high surface area to volume ratio and ingesting food source that may already have been contaminated by heavy metal substances, which will then result in physiological toxicity and ecological stress. [9] [10] They found out that 99.4% of the total mercury pools from the ecosystem was accumulated in layers of soil. High pools of mercury in soil can endanger the atmospheric activity as more mercury can be released during potential wildfires. It is reported that a female cicada usually has a higher mercury level than the males due to having a smaller body mass and more concentrated mercury concentrations, [11] [12] but the mercury concentrations in both of the sexes in this research was significantly similar as there were no significant differences in body mass. [8] They also argued that there are higher mercury levels in cicada (49±38 ng/g) as compared to longicorn (7±5 ng/g), due to the special life cycle of cicada; [8] the larvae of cicadas can live for four to five years underground before they undergo their last molting and rely on sucking plant roots for survival, which may contain a relatively higher mercury levels than in wood or bark of the tree. Nevertheless, mercury levels recorded from dung beetles in this experiment were a lot times higher than both cicada and longicorn; 40 and 283 times higher, respectively. [8] [13]

Lead bio-accumulation

The forest ecosystem is in danger of the elevating levels of lead (Pb) in soils and biomass as lead can be deposited atmospherically. The sources of elevating levels of lead in terrestrial environments are known to come from both natural and anthropogenic activities, such as the use and production of lead batteries, gasoline combustion from motor vehicles, coal combustion, sintering and smelting of minerals. This can pose ecological threat to insects, the habitat that they are living in and their foraging habits since terrestrial forests are identified as large sinks of atmospheric lead. Similar to the mercury level in soil study, cicada larvae are collected and sampled within Tieshanping Forest Park and a protected area near Chongqing City, Southwest China to measure the bio-accumulation of lead concentration as they can live underground from four to up to five years long before appearing above ground and undergo their last stage of molting. The next life-cycle stage will require them to feed on sap of plants. It is worth noting that Chongqing is one of the important industrial areas in Southwest China which uses a large amount of fossil fuels. This may contribute to the higher levels of lead in the area and contaminate the surrounding environment. The average concentration of lead in the atmosphere was recorded at 149 ng/m3 in 2012. [14] The research showed that the lead concentration in the cicadas were lower than the known harmful level for invertebrates. The female cicadas are reported to have higher concentrations of lead than males, similar to the dung beetles in the study. However, it is known that cicada larvae have the ability to detoxify harmful substances, such as the removal of degenerated cells, producing metal-containing vesicles into the digestive tract for removal and exocytosis. [15] This allows them to be more resilient to lead pollution in soil which increases their chance of survival. The research however, justified that there are concerning elevated levels of lead in dung beetles, which can negatively affect predators in food chains. [16] This case is also known as biomagnification, which occurs when toxicity levels in a tolerant organism's tissue increase successively in a food chain.

Chremistica ochracea with bright green body and transparent or hyaline wings with green outline sitting on leaves. The triangular head can be seen clearly from this angle. Bo Chi Chan .JPG
Chremistica ochracea with bright green body and transparent or hyaline wings with green outline sitting on leaves. The triangular head can be seen clearly from this angle.

See also

In a paper, Chremistica ochracea is recognised under the pontianaka group, with some other genus Chremistica species. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cicada</span> Superfamily of insects

The cicadas are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera. They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two families, the Tettigarctidae, with two species in Australia, and the Cicadidae, with more than 3,000 species described from around the world; many species remain undescribed. Nearly all of cicada species are annual cicadas with the exception of the few North American periodical cicada species, genus Magicicada, which in a given region emerge en masse every 13 or 17 years.

In biology, exuviae are the remains of an exoskeleton and related structures that are left after ecdysozoans have molted. The exuviae of an animal can be important to biologists as they can often be used to identify the species of the animal and even its sex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cicadinae</span> Subfamily of true bugs

The Cicadinae are a subfamily of cicadas, containing the translucent cicadas. They are robust cicadas and many have gaudy colors, but they generally lack the butterfly-like opaque wing markings found in many species of the related Tibiceninae.

<i>Amphipsalta zelandica</i> Species of true bug

The chorus cicada, Amphipsalta zelandica, is the most common species of cicada in New Zealand, where it is endemic and found in most areas. They typically live in forests and areas with open bush, where their left-over nymph skins can be seen on tree trunks and branches during the summer months. The males produce their cicada sound in unison, which can reach deafening proportions at the height of their population around February. Groups of cicada can suddenly transition from the typical cicada sound to synchronised clicks, using their wings to clap against the surface they are sitting on.

<i>Aleeta curvicosta</i> Species of insect

Aleeta curvicosta is a species of cicada, one of Australia's most familiar insects. Native to the continent's eastern coastline, it was described in 1834 by Ernst Friedrich Germar. The floury baker is the only described species in the genus Aleeta.

<i>Psaltoda plaga</i> Species of true bug

Psaltoda plaga is a species of cicada native to eastern Australia, from Maryborough in central Queensland to Bega in southern New South Wales. Adult cicadas appear over the summer and inhabit forested areas near bodies of water. The predominantly black form from the Sydney and Central Coast regions is commonly known as the black prince, while the term silver knight is used for the species as a whole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cryptotympanini</span> Tribe of true bugs

Cryptotympanini is a tribe of cicadas in the family Cicadidae. They are found in the Nearctic, Palearctic, Indomalaya, Oceania, and Afrotropics.

<i>Chremistica</i> Genus of true bugs

Chremistica is a genus of cicadas from Southeast Asia and Madagascar. Its distribution encompasses India, Sri Lanka, continental South East Asia, Taiwan, Philippines, Malayan Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo and Java, the Lesser Sunda Islands, viz., Lombok, Sumba, Sumbawa and Timor, and Sulawesi, while one group of species is recorded from Madagascar

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soundscape ecology</span> Study of the effect of environmental sound on organisms

Soundscape ecology is the study of the acoustic relationships between living organisms, human and other, and their environment, whether the organisms are marine or terrestrial. First appearing in the Handbook for Acoustic Ecology edited by Barry Truax, in 1978, the term has occasionally been used, sometimes interchangeably, with the term acoustic ecology. Soundscape ecologists also study the relationships between the three basic sources of sound that comprise the soundscape: those generated by organisms are referred to as the biophony; those from non-biological natural categories are classified as the geophony, and those produced by humans, the anthropophony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chlorocystini</span> Tribe of true bugs

Chlorocystini is a tribe of cicadas in the family Cicadidae. There are at least 20 genera and 170 described species in Chlorocystini.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cicadatrini</span> Tribe of true bugs

Cicadatrini is a tribe of cicadas in the family Cicadidae. There are at least 120 described species in Cicadatrini.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cicadettini</span> Tribe of cicada insects

Cicadettini is a tribe of cicadas in the family Cicadidae. There are at least 110 genera and 520 described species in Cicadettini, found worldwide except for the Neotropics.

Prasiini is a tribe of cicadas in the family Cicadidae. There are about 9 genera and at least 50 described species in Prasiini, found in tropical Africa, Australasia, and the Neotropics.

Taphurini is a tribe of cicadas in the family Cicadidae, found in the neotropics.

Arenopsaltriini is a tribe of cicadas in the family Cicadidae, found in Australia. There are at least two genera and about seven described species in Arenopsaltriini.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosmopsaltriini</span> Tribe of true bugs

Cosmopsaltriini is a tribe of cicadas in the family Cicadidae. There are at least 90 described species in Cosmopsaltriini, found in Southeast Asia, Australasia, and Oceania.

Nelcyndana is a genus of cicadas in the family Cicadidae, found in southeast Asia and the Philippines. There are about five described species in Nelcyndana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macrotristriini</span> Tribe of true bugs

Macrotristriini is a tribe of cicadas in the family Cicadidae. There are at least 2 genera and 20 described species in Macrotristriini, all found in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Psaltodini</span> Tribe of true bugs

Psaltodini is a tribe of cicadas in the family Cicadidae, found in Australia. There are at least 3 genera and about 17 described species in Psaltodini.

Psithyristriini is a tribe of cicadas in the family Cicadidae, found in the Philippines. There are about 7 genera and at least 100 described species in Psithyristriini.

References

  1. ↑ "Chremistica ochracea (Walker, 1850) 薄翅蟬 | 台灣生物多樣性資訊入口網". taibif.tw (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Lee, Young June; Hayashi, Masami (2003-06-30). "Taxonomic Review of Cicadidae (Hemiptera, Auchenorrhyncha) from Taiwan, Part 1. Platypleurini, Tibicenini, Polyneurini, and Dundubiini (Dundubiina)". Insecta Koreana. 20: 149–185.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Salmah, Y.; Duffels, J.P.; Zaidi, M.I. (2005). "Taxonomic Notes of the Malaysian Species of Chremistica Stål (Homoptera: Cicadidae)". Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology. 8 (1): 15–23. doi:10.1016/s1226-8615(08)60067-9. ISSN   1226-8615.
  4. 1 2 Yaakop, S.; Duffels, J. P.; Visser, H. (2005-01-01). "The cicada genus Chremistica Stål (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) in Sundaland". Tijdschrift voor Entomologie. 148 (2): 247–306. doi: 10.1163/22119434-900000172 . ISSN   2211-9434.
  5. 1 2 3 Lee, Ya-Fu; Lin, Yu-Hsiu; Wu, Shu-Hui (2010-03-01). "Spatiotemporal Variation in Cicada Diversity and Distribution, and Tree Use by Exuviating Nymphs, in East Asian Tropical Reef-Karst Forests and Forestry Plantations". Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 103 (2): 216–226. doi: 10.1603/an09100 . ISSN   0013-8746.
  6. ↑ Moriyama, Minoru; Numata, Hideharu (2006). "Induction of egg hatching by high humidity in the cicada Cryptotympana facialis". Journal of Insect Physiology. 52 (11–12): 1219–1225. doi:10.1016/j.jinsphys.2006.09.005. ISSN   0022-1910. PMID   17069843.
  7. 1 2 Shieh, Bao-Sen; Liang, Shih-Hsiung; Chiu, Yuh-Wen (2015-01-15). "Acoustic and Temporal Partitioning of Cicada Assemblages in City and Mountain Environments". PLOS ONE. 10 (1): e0116794. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1016794S. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0116794 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   4295890 . PMID   25590620.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Zhou, Jun; Wang, Zhangwei; Sun, Ting; Zhang, Huan; Zhang, Xiaoshan (2016-05-01). "Mercury in terrestrial forested systems with highly elevated mercury deposition in southwestern China: The risk to insects and potential release from wildfires". Environmental Pollution. 212: 188–196. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2016.01.003. ISSN   0269-7491. PMID   26845366.
  9. ↑ Wyman, Katherine E.; Rodenhouse, Nicholas L.; Bank, Michael S. (2011-05-23). "Mercury bioaccumulation, speciation, and influence on web structure in orb-weaving spiders from a forested watershed". Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. 30 (8): 1873–1878. doi:10.1002/etc.572. ISSN   0730-7268. PMID   21544862.
  10. ↑ Townsend, Jason M.; Driscoll, Charles T.; Rimmer, Christopher C.; McFarland, Kent P. (2013-12-03). "Avian, salamander, and forest floor mercury concentrations increase with elevation in a terrestrial ecosystem". Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. 33 (1): 208–215. doi:10.1002/etc.2438. ISSN   0730-7268. PMID   24302165.
  11. ↑ Heckel, Pamela F.; Keener, Tim C. (2007-08-01). "Sex differences noted in mercury bioaccumulation in Magicicada cassini". Chemosphere. 69 (1): 79–81. Bibcode:2007Chmsp..69...79H. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2007.04.063. ISSN   0045-6535. PMID   17553548.
  12. ↑ Zheng, Dongmei; Zhang, Zhongsheng; Wang, Qichao (2010-05-14). "Total and Methyl Mercury Contents and Distribution Characteristics in Cicada, Cryptotympana atrata (Fabricius)". Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. 84 (6): 749–753. doi:10.1007/s00128-010-0030-0. ISSN   0007-4861. PMC   2882563 . PMID   20467725.
  13. ↑ Zheng, Dongmei; Zhang, Zhongsheng; Wang, Qichao (2010-05-14). "Total and Methyl Mercury Contents and Distribution Characteristics in Cicada, Cryptotympana atrata (Fabricius)". Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. 84 (6): 749–753. doi:10.1007/s00128-010-0030-0. ISSN   0007-4861. PMC   2882563 . PMID   20467725.
  14. ↑ Zhou, Jun; Du, Buyun; Wang, Zhangwei; Zhang, Wantong; Xu, Lei; Fan, Xingjun; Liu, Xiaoli; Zhou, Jing (2019). "Distributions and pools of lead (Pb) in a terrestrial forest ecosystem with highly elevated atmospheric Pb deposition and ecological risks to insects". Science of the Total Environment. 647: 932–941. Bibcode:2019ScTEn.647..932Z. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.091. ISSN   0048-9697. PMID   30096681.
  15. ↑ Conti, Erminia; Dattilo, Sandro; Costa, Giovanni; Puglisi, Concetto (2017). "The ground beetle Parallelomorphus laevigatus is a potential indicator of trace metal contamination on the eastern coast of Sicily". Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. 135: 183–190. doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2016.09.029. ISSN   0147-6513. PMID   27741459.
  16. ↑ Zhou, Jun; Du, Buyun; Wang, Zhangwei; Zhang, Wantong; Xu, Lei; Fan, Xingjun; Liu, Xiaoli; Zhou, Jing (2019-01-10). "Distributions and pools of lead (Pb) in a terrestrial forest ecosystem with highly elevated atmospheric Pb deposition and ecological risks to insects". The Science of the Total Environment. 647: 932–941. Bibcode:2019ScTEn.647..932Z. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.091. ISSN   1879-1026. PMID   30096681.
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