Psaltoda moerens

Psaltoda moerens
	Redeye on a eucalypt
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hemiptera
Suborder:	Auchenorrhyncha
Family:	Cicadidae
Genus:	Psaltoda
Species:	P. moerens
Binomial name
	Psaltoda moerens; (Germar, 1834)

Last updated January 03, 2024

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.^[1] Populations can vary greatly between years; one year they may be present in large numbers and the next they may be entirely absent.^[1] 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.^[1]

Taxonomy

The redeye was originally described by German naturalist Ernst Friedrich Germar in 1834 as Cicada moerens, and later transferred to the new genus Psaltoda, where it was designated the type species by Swedish entomologist Carl Stål.^[2]^[3]

Walter Wilson Froggatt reported that the common name was used by Sydney children in his 1907 work Australian Insects, referring to the colour of the ocelli.^[4]

Description

The typical wingspan is around 110–120 mm.^[1] The adult is a shiny black above and brown and finely hairy underneath. As the name implies, the eyes are a deep red colour, although pinkish- and brownish-eyed specimens are seen. Heard at any time of day, the call consists of two to twelve (often around six) revving sounds with a yodelling quality, followed by a rattling continuous call. The redeye makes the yodelling sound by flexing its abdomen upwards.^[2]

Distribution and habitat

Encountered from November to February only, the redeye is found from the New England region of south-east Queensland through New South Wales and into Victoria and south-eastern South Australia, and Eastern and Northern Tasmania. It is found from the coast inland to Toowoomba and Inverell in the north, and the Grampians and Mount Lofty Ranges in the south. It is found at elevation in the northern parts of its range, and at low altitudes in the southern parts.^[2] It appears only irregularly, in some summers and not others, in western Sydney.^[5]

The redeye prefers open sclerophyll forest, in particular smooth-barked eucalypts and Angophora species, but will settle for rough-barked species if more suitable trees are not available. Species favoured include Sydney red gum or smooth-barked apple ( Angophora costata ),^[2] scribbly gum ( Eucalyptus racemosa ), grey box ( E. moluccana ) and narrow-leaved apple ( Angophora bakeri ) around Sydney,^[5] Eucalyptus grandis in the vicinity of Taree, manna gum ( Eucalyptus viminalis ), and messmate stringybark ( Eucalyptus obliqua ) near Adelaide. It has also settled for introduced trees such as the liquidambar ( Liquidambar styraciflua ), Japanese maple ( Acer palmatum ), and weeping willow ( Salix babylonica ). Redeyes settle on the trunks of smoother barked trees, and wherever the bark is smoothest on rougher trees, and may gather in large numbers on some trees while ignoring others nearby.^[2] In some cases many thousands of redeyes may inhabit a few trees.^[6]

Behaviour

They puncture the bark and may feed for hours at a time. They expel waste fluid which can fall in a constant shower if there are large numbers of redeyes. Redeyes are also attracted to light.^[2] The female lays eggs in dead or dying plant tissue only.

The redeye and related black prince are favoured food items of the noisy friarbird, which swallows them head-first and whole. The width of its gape size is similar to that of the two cicada species.^[7]

The redeye is preyed upon by the cicada killer wasp ( Exeirus lateritius ), which stings and paralyses the cicada before storing it in its burrow with the wasp egg. When the larva hatches it consumes the hapless insect.^[8]

Related Research Articles

Gum trees are common names for smooth-barked trees and shrubs in several genera:

Eucalyptus punctata, commonly known as grey gum, is a small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has smooth grey bark that is shed in patches, lance-shaped, curved or egg-shaped adult leaves flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and hemispherical or cup-shaped fruit. Its leaves are one of the favoured foods of the koala.

Eucalyptus viminalis, commonly known as the manna gum, white gum or ribbon gum, is a species of small to very tall tree that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has smooth bark, sometimes with rough bark near the base, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three or seven, white flowers and cup-shaped or hemispherical fruit.

Angophora costata, commonly known as Sydney red gum, rusty gum or smooth-barked apple, is a species of tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. Reaching 30 m (100 ft) in height, the species has distinctive smooth bark that is pinkish or orange-brown when new and fades to grey with age. Its lance-shaped leaves are arranged in opposite pairs along the stems, with white or creamy white flowers appearing from October to December. The flower buds are usually arranged in groups of three, followed by ribbed, oval or bell-shaped fruit.

Eucalyptus botryoides, commonly known as the bangalay, bastard jarrah, woollybutt or southern mahogany, is a small to tall tree native to southeastern Australia. Reaching up to 40 metres high, it has rough bark on its trunk and branches. It is found on sandstone- or shale-based soils in open woodland, or on more sandy soils behind sand dunes. The white flowers appear in summer and autumn. It reproduces by resprouting from its woody lignotuber or epicormic buds after bushfire. E. botryoides hybridises with the Sydney blue gum in the Sydney region. The hard, durable wood has been used for panelling and flooring.

Angophora hispida grows as a mallee, or as a tree to about 7 m (25 ft) in height. A. hispida's small size, especially when compared to its Angophora and Eucalyptus relatives, leads to it being known by the common name dwarf apple. It is native to a relatively small patch of central New South Wales – from just south of Sydney up to the Gosford area. The plant's leaves are sessile (stalk-less) and hug the stem with heart-shaped bases. Its previous name – A. cordifolia – referred to these cordate leaves. Another distinctive feature are the red bristly hairs that cover the branchlets, flower bases and new growth. This leads to the specific epithet hispida.

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.

Angophora floribunda, commonly known as the rough-barked apple, is a common woodland and forest tree of the family Myrtaceae native to Eastern Australia. Reaching 30 m (100 ft) high, it is a large tree with fibrous bark and cream-white flowers that appear over the Austral summer. It grows on alluvial soils on floodplains and along watercourses. Much of the land it grew on has been cleared for agriculture.

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

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.

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>Eucalyptus pilularis</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus pilularis, commonly known as blackbutt, is a species of medium-sized to tall tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has rough, finely fibrous greyish bark on the lower half of the trunk, smooth white, grey or cream-coloured bark above, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between seven and fifteen, white flowers and hemispherical or shortened spherical fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus deanei</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus deanei, commonly known as mountain blue gum, round-leaved gum, or Deane's gum, is a species of large tree endemic to New South Wales. It has smooth bark, lance-shaped leaves that are paler on the lower surface, flower buds in groups of seven to eleven, white flowers and cup-shaped to bell-shaped fruit.

Psaltoda is a genus of cicada found in eastern Australia. Originally described by Carl Stål, the type species is Psaltoda moerens known as the redeye, and P. plaga is a well-known species from eastern Australia, known as the black prince. Fifteen species are recognised. Relationships of the species with each other remains unclear.

Henicopsaltria eydouxii, commonly known as the razor grinder, is a large species of cicada native to eastern Australia. Predominantly brown in colour, it is found in dry and wet sclerophyll forest in December and January and is quite common in Brisbane.

Thopha sessiliba, commonly known as the northern double drummer, is an Australian cicada native to Queensland, the Northern Territory and northern Western Australia. Adults perch almost exclusively on ghost gums.

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

Psaltoda harrisii, commonly known as the yellowbelly, is a species of cicada native to eastern Australia. It can be distinguished from the similar but larger Black prince, by noting the absence of a dark Z-shaped infuscation near the apex of the forewings, which is present on P. plaga.

Eucalyptus prava, commonly known as orange gum, is a species of small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has smooth, mottled bark, lance-shaped or curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and cup-shaped or hemispherical fruit.

References

1 2 3 4 Wildlife of Sydney - Fact File - Red Eye Archived 2008-07-22 at the Wayback Machine
1 2 3 4 5 6 Moulds, Maxwell Sydney (1990). Australian Cicadas. Kensington, NSW: New South Wales University Press. pp. 74–77. ISBN 0-86840-139-0.
↑ Stål, Carl (1861). "Genera nonnulla nova Cicadinorum". Annales de la Société Entomologique de France (in Latin). 4 (1): 613–22 [613–14].
↑ Froggatt, Walter Wilson (1907). Australian Insects. Sydney, New South Wales: W. Brooks. p. 349.
1 2 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.
↑ Moulds, Maxwell (1 September 2009). "Those noisy Sydney insects - the cicadas". In Daniel Lunney; Pat Hutchings; Dieter Hochuli (eds.). The natural history of Sydney. Mosman, NSW: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales. pp. 227–233. ISBN 9780980327236.
↑ Saunders, A.S.J.; Ambrose, S.J.; Burg, S. (1995). "Gape Width and Prey Selectivity in the Noisy Friarbird Philemon corniculatus and Red Wattlebird Anthochaera carunculata" (PDF). Emu. 95 (4): 297–300. doi:10.1071/MU9950297. S2CID 87413892. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-02-26.
↑ Moulds, p. 10

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[faunanet-1] 1 2 3 4 Wildlife of Sydney - Fact File - Red Eye Archived 2008-07-22 at the Wayback Machine

[AusCic-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Moulds, Maxwell Sydney (1990). Australian Cicadas. Kensington, NSW: New South Wales University Press. pp. 74–77. ISBN 0-86840-139-0.

[stal_1861-3] Stål, Carl (1861). "Genera nonnulla nova Cicadinorum". Annales de la Société Entomologique de France (in Latin). 4 (1): 613–22 [613–14].

[4] Froggatt, Walter Wilson (1907). Australian Insects. Sydney, New South Wales: W. Brooks. p. 349.

[emery2005-5] 1 2 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.

[NaturalHistorySydney-6] Moulds, Maxwell (1 September 2009). "Those noisy Sydney insects - the cicadas". In Daniel Lunney; Pat Hutchings; Dieter Hochuli (eds.). The natural history of Sydney. Mosman, NSW: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales. pp. 227–233. ISBN 9780980327236.

[7] Saunders, A.S.J.; Ambrose, S.J.; Burg, S. (1995). "Gape Width and Prey Selectivity in the Noisy Friarbird Philemon corniculatus and Red Wattlebird Anthochaera carunculata" (PDF). Emu. 95 (4): 297–300. doi:10.1071/MU9950297. S2CID 87413892. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-02-26.

[8] Moulds, p. 10

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]