Cyclochila australasiae

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Cyclochila australasiae
Cyclochila australasiae.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Auchenorrhyncha
Family: Cicadidae
Genus: Cyclochila
Species:
C. australasiae
Binomial name
Cyclochila australasiae
(Donovan, 1805)
Synonyms [1]

Tettigonia australasiae Donovan
Cicada olivacea Germar

Cyclochila australasiae is a species of cicada and one of Australia's most familiar insects. It is distributed through coastal regions of southeastern Australia. [2] Green specimens are commonly known as green grocers and yellow ones as yellow mondays.

It is one of the loudest insects in the world. [3]

Taxonomy

Cyclochila australasiae was first described as Tettigonia australasiae in 1805 by amateur zoologist Edward Donovan, who reported that it was common in New South Wales and many specimens had been collected and sent to England. [4] Ernst Friedrich Germar named it Cicada olivacea in 1830. [1] It was the second Australian species of cicada described after the double drummer ( Thopha saccata ). [5]

It was formerly commonly known as the Great Green Cicada; in addition, the various colour forms have different vernacular names, including Yellow Monday for a common yellow morph; Chocolate Soldier for a rare dark tan form; Blue Moon for a rare turquoise form; and Masked Devil for its red-orange form. [6] The names for the green and yellow forms have been recorded since at least 1896. [6] Australian entomologist Walter Wilson Froggatt reported that the green form was known as green Monday (alongside yellow Monday for the yellow form) in his 1907 work Australian Insects. [7]

Description

Cyclochila australasiae measures about 4 cm (1.6 in) in length, with a wingspan of 11–13 cm (4.3–5.1 in). Diverse colour forms are seen, the most common being predominantly green or brownish yellow. It has red eyes. The exuvia, or discarded empty exoskeleton of the nymph form, is commonly seen on tree trunks in gardens and bushland during the summer months. [2]

The loud calls of the male are heard over the summer months; harsh and high-pitched, these may reach 120 decibels. [8] The sound is made by the rapid buckling of the timbal ribs, and amplified by resonation in an air sac; the frequency is around 4.3 kHz. [9] Calls occur in the afternoon and dusk of warm days. [6]

Distribution and habitat

Cyclochila australasiae is found from Kroombit Tops in southeastern Queensland through eastern New South Wales and Victoria to the Grampians, and through to Mount Gambier in southeastern South Australia. It is common along the Great Dividing Range, and is also found in the Warrumbungles. It is commonly seen (and heard) around Sydney and Melbourne, the Blue Mountains and Gippsland. In Brisbane, it is only encountered at elevations above 300 m (1000 ft). [10] It was associated with the white stringybark ( Eucalyptus globoidea ) in a study at three sites in western Sydney. [11]

Life cycle

A Green grocer cicada molting Green grocer cicada molting.jpg
A Green grocer cicada molting
A Green grocer cicada drying its wings Cyclochila australasiae .jpg
A Green grocer cicada drying its wings

Their median total life cycle length is around six to seven years, this being from egg to a natural adult death. [12] Most of this spent as a nymph. The cicada spends seven years in nymph form drinking sap from plant roots underground before emerging from the earth as an adult. The adults, who live for six weeks, fly around, mate, and breed over the summer. [6]

Human uses

Live cicadas are often collected by climbing trees and can be kept temporarily as pets in shoeboxes. They cannot easily be kept for longer than a day or two, given that they need flowing sap for food. [13]

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hemiptera</span> Order of insects often called true bugs

Hemiptera is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from 1 mm (0.04 in) to around 15 cm (6 in), and share a common arrangement of piercing-sucking mouthparts. The name "true bugs" is often limited to the suborder Heteroptera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Donovan</span> Anglo-Irish writer, natural history illustrator, and amateur zoologist

Edward Donovan was an Anglo-Irish writer, natural history illustrator, and amateur zoologist. He did not travel, but collected, described and illustrated many species based on the collections of other naturalists. His many books were successful in his time. He died penniless in 1837 leaving a large family destitute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leafhopper</span> Family of insects

Leafhopper is the common name for any species from the family Cicadellidae. These minute insects, colloquially known as hoppers, are plant feeders that suck plant sap from grass, shrubs, or trees. Their hind legs are modified for jumping, and are covered with hairs that facilitate the spreading of a secretion over their bodies that acts as a water repellent and carrier of pheromones. They undergo a partial metamorphosis, and have various host associations, varying from very generalized to very specific. Some species have a cosmopolitan distribution, or occur throughout the temperate and tropical regions. Some are pests or vectors of plant viruses and phytoplasmas. The family is distributed all over the world, and constitutes the second-largest hemipteran family, with at least 20,000 described species.

<i>Chrysolopus spectabilis</i> Species of beetle

Chrysolopus spectabilis is a species of weevil found in south-eastern Australia. It was discovered during James Cook's first voyage, and became one of the first insects to be described from Australia. The weevil measures up to 25 mm (1.0 in) long and includes distinctive metallic green and black scales. It is found only on 28 species of the plant genus Acacia.

Walter Wilson Froggatt was an Australian economic entomologist.

<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>Thopha saccata</i> Australian species of cicada

Thopha saccata, the double drummer, is the largest Australian species of cicada and reputedly the loudest insect in the world. Documented by the Danish zoologist Johan Christian Fabricius in 1803, it was the first described and named cicada native to Australia. Its common name comes from the large dark red-brown sac-like pockets that the adult male has on each side of its abdomen—the "double drums"—that are used to amplify the sound it produces.

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

Psaltoda moerens, commonly known as the redeye, is an Australian species of cicada. It is distributed through the south-east of Australia, from southern Queensland to South Australia, as well as Tasmania. Populations can vary greatly between years; one year they may be present in large numbers and the next they may be entirely absent. They feed primarily on eucalyptus but also on Angophora trees. As they feed on tree sap they expel small droplets of clear waste fluid. When numbers are high, this can form a constant stream.

<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.

<i>Eupoecila australasiae</i> Species of beetle

Eupoecila australasiae, commonly known as the fiddler beetle or rose chafer, is a colourful green- or yellow-and-black member of the scarab beetle family from eastern Australia.

<i>Anoplognathus viridiaeneus</i> Species of beetle

Anoplognathus viridiaeneus, commonly known as the king Christmas beetle, is a beetle of the family Scarabaeidae native to eastern Australia. The largest Christmas beetle, it can be over 3 centimetres (1.2 in) long.

<i>Cyclochila virens</i> Species of true bug

Cyclochila virens, commonly known as the northern greengrocer, is a species of cicada native to northeastern Queensland.

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

Cyclochila is a genus of cicada native to eastern Australia. Two species are recognised, the greengrocer and the northern greengrocer.

<i>Macrotristria angularis</i> Species of true bug

Macrotristria angularis, commonly known as the cherrynose, is an Australian cicada native to eastern Australia, where it is found in sclerophyll forests.

<i>Kikihia ochrina</i> Species of cicada endemic to New Zealand

Kikihia ochrina is a species of insect endemic to New Zealand. This species has a three-year life cycle and adults are bright green in colour and are most commonly seen in the month of April in the North Island.

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

Yoyetta is a genus of cicadas in the family Cicadidae. The genus was erected in 2012 to accommodate nine Australian species previously assigned to the genus Cicadetta.

<i>Glabridorsum stokesii</i> Species of wasp

Glabridorsum stokesii is a species of parasitoid wasp belonging to the family Ichneumonidae first described by Peter Cameron in 1912, known to be a generalist parasite of species including crop pest species such as the codling moth and Grapholita molesta. The species is native to southeastern Australia, and has been introduced to New Zealand.

References

  1. 1 2 Australian Biological Resources Study (19 July 2012). "Species Cyclochila australasiae (Donovan, 1805)". Australian Faunal Directory. Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Australian Government. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  2. 1 2 Hangay, G.; German, P. (2000). Insects of Australia. Frenchs Forest, NSW: New Holland Press. pp. 58–59. ISBN   1-876334-41-X.
  3. "Cicadas". Australian Museum. Archived from the original on 2007-12-17. Retrieved 2007-12-05.
  4. Donovan, Edward (1805). An epitome of the natural history of the insects of New Holland, New Zealand, New Guinea, Otaheite, and other islands in the Indian, Southern, and Pacific oceans: including the figures and descriptions of one hundred and fifty-three species of the more splendid, beautiful, and interesting insects, hitherto discovered in those countries, and which for the most part have not appeared in the works of any preceding author. London: F.C. and J. Rivington. p. pl. 10.
  5. Lunney, Daniel; Hochuli, Dieter; Hutchings, P. A., eds. (2010). The Natural History of Sydney. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales. p. 227. ISBN   978-0-9803272-3-6.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Greengrocer, Yellow Monday Fact File". Australian Museum online - Wildlife of Sydney. Australian Museum. 2009. Archived from the original on October 30, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-03.
  7. Froggatt, Walter Wilson (1907). Australian Insects. Sydney, New South Wales: W. Brooks. p. 349.
  8. "Cicadas: Superfamily Cicadoidea" . Retrieved 2019-12-08.
  9. Gerhardt HC, Huber F (2002). Acoustic communication in insects and anurans: common problems and diverse solutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 33. ISBN   0-226-28832-3.
  10. Moulds, Maxwell Sydney (1990). Australian Cicadas. Kensington, NSW: New South Wales University Press. pp. 61–65. ISBN   0-86840-139-0.
  11. Emery, D.L.; Emery, S.J.; Emery, N.J.; Popple, L.W. (2005). "A phenological study of the cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) in western Sydney, New South Wales, with notes on plant associations". Australian Entomologist. 32: 97–110.
  12. Campbell, Matthew (18 August 2015). "Genome expansion via lineage splitting and genome reduction in the cicada endosymbiont Hodgkinia - Supporting Information" (PDF). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 112 (33): 10192–10199. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1421386112 . PMC   4547289 . PMID   26286984 . Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  13. Craig, Owen (17 February 2001). "Summer of singing cicadas". ABC Science – Environment and Nature. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 15 August 2013.