Cicadetta montana

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Cicadetta montana
Cicadetta montana Croatia.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Auchenorrhyncha
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadettinae
Tribe: Cicadettini
Genus: Cicadetta
Species:
C. montana
Binomial name
Cicadetta montana
(Scopoli, 1772)
Cicadetta montana male Cicadetta montana04.jpg
Cicadetta montana male

Cicadetta montana (also known as the New Forest cicada) is a species of Cicadetta found throughout Europe and in parts of Asia. [1]

Contents

It is regarded as endangered over large parts of Europe, and has vanished from several areas in Western Europe. [2] It is the only cicada species native to England and Finland (Åminnefors in Pohja). [3]

The adult females inject their eggs into the stems of food plants, and, when the larvae emerge, they burrow underground and as nymphs feeding on root sap. These underground cycles may last many years, differing for each species.

Females have a body measuring about 50 mm in length, with the males being much smaller. It has transparent wings with prominent veins, folded over the back when at rest, and a dark slate-grey or black body with dull orange rings around the abdomen. The legs are marked with dull orange as are the leading edges of the wings (costae).

As with all cicadas, the males produce the shrill, buzzing calls by rapidly flexing drumhead-like membranes, while the females are limited to producing clicks. The call of C montana sounds like static hiss to the unaided human ear and is sustained with relatively short lulls at irregular intervals. [4] Their shrilling was venerated by the ancient Greeks, but detested by Virgil. [5]

Food plants

Taxonomic history

In 1772, Scopoli described and named the type specimen from Slovenia as Melampsalta montana, and this was later changed to Cicadetta montana. It has turned out to be not a single taxon, but a complex of closely related species distinguishable by their songs. Using this method of differentiation, at least 10 species have been separated from the complex. Classification by calls has led to three main groups being proposed which largely correspond with the clades suggested by DNA analyses – one new species not fitting in the proposed scheme. [7] [8] [9]

Synonyms

New Forest cicada project

C. montana has not been seen or heard anywhere in Britain since 2000. In 2013, in an attempt to locate remaining specimens, developers have written application software for smartphones, enabling users to listen to sound frequencies beyond the normal human range. [11] Up to December 2015, over 3,000 people had downloaded the ″Hunt for the New Forest Cicada app″ without success in Britain, although the app has recorded the insect in Slovenia. From 2016 onwards, 100 autonomous acoustic monitoring devices were to be deployed each year throughout the New Forest. [12]

C. montana also disappeared between 1941 and 1961, so their current absence may be part of a cycle. [13]

In 2024 a project to re-introduce the species to the New Forest was launched by the Species Recovery Trust. The project will involve capturing individuals from the Idrija region of Slovenia, with some to be captive bred and others released into a series of carefully monitored locations. [14]

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birch</span> Genus of flowering plants in the family Betulaceae

A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus Betula, in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus Betula contains 30 to 60 known taxa of which 11 are on the IUCN 2011 Red List of Threatened Species. They are typically short-lived pioneer species and are widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, particularly in northern areas of temperate climates and in boreal climates. Birch wood is used for a wide range of purposes.

<i>Betula pendula</i> Species of birch

Betula pendula, commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in southern Europe, it is only found at higher altitudes. Its range extends into Siberia, China, and southwest Asia in the mountains of northern Turkey, the Caucasus, and northern Iran. It has been introduced into North America, where it is known as the European white birch or weeping birch and is considered invasive in some states in the United States and parts of Canada. The tree can also be found in more temperate regions of Australia.

<i>Betula pubescens</i> Species of birch

Betula pubescens, commonly known as downy birch and also as moor birch, white birch, European white birch or hairy birch, is a species of deciduous tree, native and abundant throughout northern Europe and northern Asia, growing farther north than any other broadleaf tree. It is closely related to, and often confused with, the silver birch, but grows in wetter places with heavier soils and poorer drainage; smaller trees can also be confused with the dwarf birch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giovanni Antonio Scopoli</span> Italian physician and naturalist

Giovanni Antonio Scopoli was an Italian physician and naturalist. His biographer Otto Guglia named him the "first anational European" and the "Linnaeus of the Austrian Empire".

<i>Amanita caesarea</i> Species of fungus

Amanita caesarea, commonly known as Caesar's mushroom, is a highly regarded edible mushroom in the genus Amanita, native to southern Europe and North Africa. While it was first described by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in 1772, this mushroom was a known favorite of early rulers of the Roman Empire.

<i>Betula populifolia</i> Species of birch

Betula populifolia, known as the gray birch, is a deciduous tree in the family Betulaceae. It is native to eastern North America and is most commonly found in the northeast United States as well as southern Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. The tree is a pioneer species that is commonly found in sites following disturbance, such as fire or logging. Gray birches don't have as much economic value as other birch species but are still commonly used as ornamental trees.

<i>Tanna japonensis</i> Species of true bug

Tanna japonensis, also called the evening cicada or higurashi, is a species of cicada, a family of insects, and a member of the genus Tanna. It is distributed throughout East Asia, and is most common in Japan. Its shrill call can be heard most often in the morning and evening.

Purana nebulilinea is a cicada species distributed in peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo and nearby smaller islands. Its song consists of a long sequence of high pitched sounds with a characteristic frequency modulation pattern which can be repeated many times without interruption.

<i>Purana</i> (cicada) Genus of true bugs

Purana is a genus of cicadas from Southeast Asia. Its distribution includes Java, Sumatra, Borneo, the Philippines, peninsular Malaysia, Thailand, India, Indochina, China, and Japan. Only one species has been recorded east of the Wallace Line, Purana celebensis, from Sulawesi. In all species the male possess two pairs of dark ventral abdominal tubercles on third and fourth sternites. The male opercula are rather short and generally do not reach beyond the posterior pair of tubercles. Related genera that also possess abdominal tubercles are Leptopsaltria, Maua, Nabalua and Tanna which together with Purana are in the subtribe Leptopsaltriina of the tribe Leptopsaltriini.

<i>Phymata crassipes</i> Species of true bug

Phymata crassipes is a species of assassin and thread-legged bugs belonging to the family Reduviidae, subfamily Phymatinae.

<i>Cicadetta cantilatrix</i> Species of true bug

Cicadetta cantilatrix is a cicada found in France, Poland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, North Macedonia, and Montenegro. The calling song from this species consists of two phrases with different echemes.

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

Cicadetta is a genus of generally small-bodied annual cicadas widespread across portions of the Palearctic, Indomalayan, and Afrotropical realms. In older scientific and taxonomic literature, this genus was popularly referred to as Melampsalta. These cicadas occur in a diverse spectrum of habitats, although most taxa are typically associated with weedy meadows and tallgrass prairie ecosystems. Several related species from North America were recently transferred to the genus Cicadettana.

<i>Oncopsis flavicollis</i> Species of true bug

Oncopsis flavicollis is a species of leafhoppers belonging to the family Cicadellidae subfamily Eurymelinae.

C. montana may refer to:

Alpiscorpius gamma is a species of scorpion found in parts of Central and Southern Europe. Its body reaches the length of 32 mm and is darkly pigmented, but is largely indistinguishable from closely related species with which it forms the »mingrelicus complex«. The animal is not considered aggressive and has mild venom, so it is not dangerous to humans.

<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.

References

  1. "Cicadetta montana Scopoli, 1772 Distribution: AT, BE, BG, DK, FI, FR, DE, GB, GR, HU, IT, NO, IL, PL, ES, SE, SLO, TR, AZ, GG, KG, MD, N-RU, M-RU, S-RU, TJ, UA, YU." The Fulgoromorpha and Cicadomorpha of Turkey - Emine Demir
  2. An Encyclopedia of Natural History
  3. The genus is also represented in Australia and New Zealand. Cicada sensations, behavior, song patterns [ page needed ]
  4. "Sound clip from Songs of Cicadas". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
  5. Taxonomy, distribution, biology and conservation status of Finnish Auchenorrhyncha - Guy Söderman Archived May 16, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  6. http://globalspecies.org/mtaxa/1000036612%5B%5D
  7. "Present status of mountain cicadas Cicadetta montana (sensu lato) in Europe" Archived 2015-01-11 at the Wayback Machine - Matija Gogala, Sakis Drosopoulos, Tomi Trilar (Bulletin of Insectology 61 (1): 123-124, 2008) ISSN   1721-8861
  8. Cicadetta montana complex in Greece – Matija Gogala, Sakis Drosopoulos, Tomi Trilar
  9. Molecular systematics of the cryptic Cicadetta montana species complex - Elizabeth Wade
  10. Centre for Entomological Studies Ankara
  11. "New Forest Cicada Project". Archived from the original on 15 May 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  12. Baraniuk, Chris (2 December 2015). "The search for Britain's only native species of cicada". BBC News. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  13. The Guardian
  14. "Cicadas are coming: Scientists to bring singing bug back to Britain".