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.
Cicadidae, the true cicadas, is the largest family of cicadas, with more than 3,200 species worldwide. The oldest known definitive fossils are from the Paleocene, a nymph from the Cretaceous Burmese amber has been attributed to the family, but could also belong to the Tettigarctidae.
In biology, exuviae are the remains of an exoskeleton and related structures that are left after ecdysozoans have moulted. 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.
The Kwazulu-Cape coastal forest mosaic is a subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of South Africa. It covers an area of 17,800 square kilometers (6,900 sq mi) in South Africa's Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.
The Cape parrot or Levaillant's parrot is a large, temperate forest dwelling parrot of the genus Poicephalus endemic to South Africa. It was formerly grouped as a subspecies along with the savanna-dwelling brown-necked parrot and grey-headed parrot, but is now considered a distinct species.
The African broadbill, also known as the black-capped broadbill or Delacour's broadbill, is a species of bird in the sub-oscine family Calyptomenidae.
Platypleura divisa is an African cicada first described by Ernst Friedrich Germar, entomologist and professor of mineralogy at Halle, who also studied beetles.
Platypleura is a genus of cicadas that occurs widely across Africa and southern Asia. Some of the South African species are remarkable for their endothermic thermoregulation that enables crepuscular signalling, an adaptation that reduces risk of predation and enables a greater range for their calls. In field experiments their maximum body temperature while calling at dusk, was measured at 22 °C above ambient temperature.
Gymnosporia heterophylla, the common spike-thorn, is a small, hardy, deciduous African tree up to 5m tall, occurring in rocky places with a wide distribution from Ethiopia, the Sudan and the Congo, south to the Cape Province and west to Angola and Namibia, as well as the neighbouring islands of Madagascar and Saint Helena, with a closely related species from Mauritius.
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.
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.
Brevisana brevis, known as the shrill thorntree cicada, is a cicada found in Africa and is the loudest insect on record. It has been recorded producing sounds with pressure levels of 106.7 decibels at a distance of 50 cm.
The Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot (MPA) is a biodiversity hotspot, a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity, in Southern Africa. It is situated near the south-eastern coast of Africa, occupying an area between the Great Escarpment and the Indian Ocean. The area is named after Maputaland, Pondoland and Albany. It stretches from the Albany Centre of Plant Endemism in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, through the Pondoland Centre of Plant Endemism and KwaZulu-Natal Province, the eastern side of Eswatini and into southern Mozambique and Mpumalanga. The Maputaland Centre of Plant Endemism is contained in northern KwaZulu-Natal and southern Mozambique.
Millettia grandis is a species of plant in the family Fabaceae from South Africa. It is commonly called umzimbeet which is a name derived from the isiZulu name umSimbithwa.
Eurytela dryope, the golden piper, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae, found in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Arabian peninsula and Madagascar.
Pycna is a genus of cicadas from Africa and Asia.
Platypleura haglundi is a medium-sized African cicada species, that occurs from northern South Africa to Zimbabwe, where it is found in diverse habitats. In South Africa it has been recorded in North West, the northern Free State, Northern Province, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Kwazulu-Natal. The type was collected in Weenen Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal.
Stagira is a genus of cicadas in the family Cicadidae. There are at least 30 described species in Stagira.
Latrodectus umbukwane, commonly known as the Phinda button spider, is a species of the spider in the genus Latrodectus described in 2019, named after the Phinda Private Game Reserve where research specimens were collected. As of 2019, it is known only from critically endangered sand forest environments in northern Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is believed to be the largest member of its genus.
