Maoricicada nigra

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Maoricicada nigra
Maoricicada nigra nigra male.jpg
Male Maoricicada nigra nigra
Maoricicada nigra nigra female.jpg
Female Maoricicada nigra nigra
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Auchenorrhyncha
Family: Cicadidae
Genus: Maoricicada
Species:
M. nigra
Binomial name
Maoricicada nigra
(Myers, 1921) [1]
Synonyms [1]
  • Melampsalta nigraMyers, 1921

Maoricicada nigra, commonly known as Subnival Cicada, is a species in the genus Maoricicada . This species was first described by John Golding Myers in 1921 [2] [3] and is endemic to New Zealand. [1] [4]

Contents

Subspecies

There are two known subspecies: [5]

Description

Maoricicada nigra are described as being shining black with a short, thick abdomen, dark brown eyes, red ocelli, no markings, and pubescence (hairs) present. [6] Both sub-species of Maoricicada nigra are short-wide cicadas with pale setae (hairs) on their head and dark setae on their abdomen. [7] Males are darker than females, and the genus is distinct from others as they have no alarm call. [8] There are 19 taxa in the Maoricicada genus, five of which are subspecies. [5]

Range

Natural global range

The Maoricicada genus is endemic to New Zealand.

New Zealand range

M. nigra is found in the alpine areas of the South Island of New Zealand with slight range differentiation between the sub-species (M. nigra nigra, and M. nigra frigida). [5]

Habitat

M. nigra frigida are found in alpine, semi-tundra areas with permanently moist soil and Asteraceae-dominated terrain. [5] M. nigra nigra live in an alpine environment and have been observed in subnival (winter snow only) and nival environments (permanent snow and ice). [5]

Ecology

Life cycle/Phenology

The lifecycle of M. nigra is, like many of New Zealand’s insect species, understudied. [5] Female cicadas will cut notches into tree branches and lay eggs in them using a specialised appendage called an ovipositor. [9] Nymphs hatch from the eggs and drop to the ground to find soil. [9] Cicada nymphs are creamy-white and have claw legs to dig into the soil, about 40cm below the surface. [9]

Cicadas spend the rest of their nymph stage, the longest stage of their life (from 3 to 5 years), below the soil and will shed their skin multiple times as they grow bigger. [9] Moulting is the process of shedding an exoskeleton which allows the cicada to grow. [10]

When they are larger and more developed, the nymphs burrow to the surface and find a high place to climb up during the night in places such as trees and shrubs. [9] The cicadas will shed once more as an imago signalling their maturation into adulthood. [9]

The adult cicadas will fly away in the morning to find a mate and reproduce. Male M. nigra sing to attract a mate using specialised structures called tymbals to produce noise. [8] Tymbals are located on the side of the male’s abdomen and are pushed out and popped back in repeatedly to make a sound. [8] Both subspecies of M. nigra alternate between two contrasting notes by synchronising the low-frequency doublets (clicks) from either (left or right) tymbal and alternating the high-frequency doublets. [8] The song of a male M. nigra makes an “er-chit- er-chit- er-chit- er-chit… ” sound. [8]

Both female and male M. nigra have tympana; ear-like structures used to hear noise. [11] Tympana are connected to an auditory system which allows for the intake of sound. [11] Their auditory system works so well that when a male sings he must ensure he doesn’t deafen himself by creating a fold in his tympanum. M. nigra are most found as adults during January and February but have an estimated season from November to April. [7]

Diet and foraging

Both nymph and adult forms of M. nigra are xylem-feeders. [5] They use their piercing-sucking mouth parts, characteristic of the Hemiptera order, to feed from sap in plant roots (nymphs) and tree branches (adults). [9]

Predators, Parasites, and Diseases

General predators of cicada are parasitic wasps which infest the cicada eggs, beetles which hunt nymphs, and fungal parasites that can kill nymphs and adults. [5] Other predators include spiders, birds, and mammals, which can eat cicadas as nymphs and adults. [5] Predatory mammals, introduced to New Zealand as early as the 1800’s, [12] pose a threat to cicadas even in alpine environments. [13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Maoricicada nigra (Myers, 1921)". Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  2. ↑ "Maoricicada nigra (Myers, 1921)". Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  3. ↑ Myers, J. G. (1921). "A revision of the New Zealand Cicadidae (Homoptera) with descriptions of new species". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 53: 238–250 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  4. ↑ Gordon, Dennis P., ed. (2010). New Zealand inventory of biodiversity: Kingdom animalia: chaetognatha, ecdysozoa, ichnofossils. Vol. 2. p. 403. ISBN   978-1-877257-93-3. LCCN   2011379669. OCLC   973607714. OL   25288394M. Wikidata   Q45922947.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Larivière, M.-C.; Fletcher, M. J.; Larochelle, A. (2010). "Auchenorrhyncha (Insecta: Hemiptera): catalogue" (PDF). Fauna of New Zealand. 63: 1–232. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2018– via Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research.
  6. ↑ Myers, John G. (1920). "A revision of the New Zealand Cicadidae (Homoptera), with descriptions of new species". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 53: 238–250.
  7. 1 2 [Te Papa (Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa). (n.d. a.) Black cicadas| Maoricicada. Te Papa. https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/discover-collections/read-watchplay/kihikihi-cicadas-and-their-sounds/cicada-sounds/maoricicada]
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Dugdale, J. S.; Fleming, C. A. (June 1978). "New Zealand cicadas of the genus Maoricicada (Homoptera: Tibicinidae)". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 5 (2): 295–340. Bibcode:1978NZJZ....5..295D. doi:10.1080/03014223.1978.10428319.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 [Te Papa (Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa). (n.d. b.) Lifecycle of a cicada. Te Papa. https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/discover-collections/read-watch-play/kihikihi-cicadas-andtheir-sounds/lifecycle-cicada]
  10. ↑ Fahrbach, Susan E. (2019). "Experimental Approaches to Hormones and Behavior: Invertebrates". Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior. pp. 462–469. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-809633-8.20848-0. ISBN   978-0-12-813252-4.
  11. 1 2 Moulds, Maxwell S. (2009). "Cicadas". Encyclopedia of Insects. pp. 163–164. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-374144-8.00055-2. ISBN   978-0-12-374144-8.
  12. ↑ Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai. (2024). Predator Response (Protecting native species). Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai. https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/our-work/national-predator-controlprogramme/predator-response-booklet.pdf
  13. ↑ O’Donnell, Colin F. J.; Weston, Kerry A.; Monks, Joanne M. (2017). "Impacts of introduced mammalian predators on New Zealand's alpine fauna". New Zealand Journal of Ecology. 41 (1): 1–22. doi:10.20417/nzjecol.41.18. JSTOR   26198778.
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