Philippines - Cicada Mania

January 16, 2019

Chremistica tagalica Stål, 1870

Chremistica tagalica Stål, 1870, is a cicada found in the Malayan Archipelago and Philippine Isles.

Chremistica tagalica was formerly known as Cicada tagalica.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Cryptotympanini
SubTribe: Cryptotympanina
Genus: Chremistica
Species: Chremistica tagalica Stål, 1870

Chremistica tagalica Stål, 1870

Species description from A Monograph of Oriental Cicadas by W.L. Distant:

Dilute olivacea ; fascia lata verticem fere totum occupante, fronte inter rugas, basi vittaque media exceptis, fascia genarum, loris, basi excepta, lateribus clypei, rostro apicem versus, vittis sex, lateralibus obliquis, disci antici thoracis, maculis quattuor oblongo-obtriangularibus anterioribus, lateralibus ultra medium extensis, lituraque litteram T reversam (x) simulante discoidali scutelli, dorso abdominis, apice coxarum posteriorum, vitta trochanterum, femoribus anticis subtus, tibiis apice superne, tibiis anterioribus interdum fere totis, tarsis totis vel basi et apice nigris; tegminibus alisque vitreis, interdum obsolete subinfuscatis, venis olivaceis, apicem versus obscurioribus, vena postcostali, raro ulnari, postcostali, interdum etiam costa posterius nigris ; segmento dorsali anali maris olivaceo-flavescente.

[Male] Operculis distincte nounihil longioribus quam latioribus, retrorsum sensim distincte angustatis, apice subsemicirculariter rotundatis, prope basin contiguis, baud tamen valvantibus, dein sensim divaricatis, olivaceo-flavescentibus, intus ssepius nigricantibus.

References:

The illustration, description and location information comes from A Monograph of Oriental Cicadas by W. L. Distant. 1889-1892. Read it on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website.
Species name information comes from Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).

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December 2, 2018

Champaka nigra (Distant, 1888)

Champaka nigra (Distant, 1888) is found in the Philipines.

Back in 1913 Platylomia albomaculata and Platylomia nigra were regarded as two different species. (FYI, albomaculata means white spotted in Latin, and nigra means black or dark also in Latin.) Somewhere along the line it was determined that they’re the same species, and belong to the Champaka Distant, 1905 genus, thus Champaka nigra.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Dundubiini
SubTribe: Dundubiina
Genus: Champaka
Species: Champaka nigra (Distant, 1888)

Champaka nigra (Distant, 1888)
The image says Platylomia albomaculata. but the new name of this cicada is Champaka nigra.

Champaka genus description by W. L. Distant in Genera Insectorum, 1913:

Characters. — Head (including eyes) considerably broader than base of mesonotum, its length about equal to breadth between eyes, lateral margins of front and vertex almost obliquely in line; pronotum about as long as head, its lateral margins armed with a distinct medial spine ; mesonotum moderately tumid ; abdomen considerably longer than space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation ; tympana covered, tympanal coverings broader than long; opercula short. just reaching basal abdominal segment, laterally oblique and thus exposing the marginal areas of the cavities rostrum reaching the posterior coxae; anterior femora strongly spined beneath ; tegmina and wings hyaline, the first considerably longer than the body and with its greatest breadth considerably less than a third of its length; apical areas eight; basal cell longer than broad.

References:

The illustration and genus description comes from the journal Genera Insectorum, and a specific article from 1913 by W. L. Distant titled Homoptera. Fam. Cicadidae, Subfam, Cicadinae. Read it on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website.
Current species name verified using Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).

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November 21, 2018

Ayesha serva (Walker, 1850)

Ayesha serva (Walker, 1850) is a cicada found in the Philipines and on Borneo (Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia), and Korea?

This one is interesting. Back when Distant wrote the Homoptera. Fam. Cicadidae, Subfam, Cicadinae. found in Genera Insectorum, 1932, there were two cicada species: Ayesha serva, found in the Philipines and Borneo, and Ayesha spathulata found in Korea. Today both species are unified under Ayesha serva. There’s a large distance between Korea and Borneo, so this makes me wonder, was A. serva actually ever in Korea, or are they two different cicadas?

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Dundubiini
SubTribe: Dundubiina
Genus: Ayesha
Species: Ayesha serva (Walker, 1850)

Ayesha serva (Walker, 1850)
The image says Ayesha spathulata, but the newer name of this cicada is Ayesha serva.

Ayesha genus description by W. L. Distant from Genera Insectorum, 1913:

Characters. — Head (including eyes) as wide or a little wider than base of mesonotum, much shorter than breadth between eyes, lateral margins obliquely continuous to face or very slightly sinuate, eyes large and oblique; pronotum shorter than mesonotum, its lateral margins angulated anteriorly; mesonotum moderately convexly tumid; abdomen short, not longer than space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation; tympanal coverings about as long as broad; rostrum reaching the intermediate coxae; opercula in male long, about twice as broad at apex as at base, inner .margins concave, widening to basal area, outer margins sinuate near centre, their apices broad overlapping;tegmina and wings hyaline, greatest width of tegmina about one third their length.

The illustration and genus description comes from the journal Genera Insectorum, and a specific article from 1913 by W. L. Distant titled Homoptera. Fam. Cicadidae, Subfam, Cicadinae. Read it on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website.

Current species name verified using Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).

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November 20, 2018

Psithyristria specularis Stål, 1870

Psithyristria specularis Stål, 1870, is a cicada found in the Phillipines.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Psithyristriini
SubTribe: Psithyristriina
Genus: Psithyristria
Species: Psithyristria specularis Stål, 1870

Psithyristria specularis Stål, 1870

Psithyristria genus description by W. L. Distant from Genera Insectorum, 1914:

Characters. — Head (including eyes) considerably narrower than base of mesonotum, tympanal coverings as long as but very much narrower than the orifices, which are thus inwardly exposed; abdomen narrowed posteriorly, a little longer than the space between the apex of head and base of cruciform elevation; tegmina and wings hyaline; tegmina with the venation abnormal; apical areas eight, the lower one very small; ulnar areas much compressed, broad, especially the two lowermost.
According to our present knowledge, the Psithyristriaria are confined to the Philippine Islands.

References:

The illustration and description comes from the journal Genera Insectorum, and a specific article from 1914 by W. L. Distant titled Homoptera. Fam. Cicadidae, Subfam, Gaeaninae. Read it on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website.
Species name verification comes from Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).
Tribe information comes from: MARSHALL, DAVID C. et al.A molecular phylogeny of the cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) with a review of tribe and subfamily classification.Zootaxa, [S.l.], v. 4424, n. 1, p. 1—64, may 2018. ISSN 1175-5334. Available at: https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4424.1.1

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November 3, 2018

Oncotympana nigristigma (Walker, 1850)

Oncotympana nigristigma (Walker, 1850) used to be called Dokumu nigristigma (now its a junior synonym). Yes, its name has changed since 1913!

This cicada is found in the Philippines.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Oncotympanini
SubTribe: Oncotympanina
Genus: Oncotympana
Species: Oncotympana nigristigma (Walker, 1850)

Oncotympana nigristigma (Walker, 1850)

Oncotympana genus description by W. L. Distant:

Characters. — Head (including eyes) nearly as wide or distinctly narrower than base of mesonotum, its length about or nearly equal to space between eyes; pronotum considerably shorter than mesonotum, its lateral margins a little convex, its posterior angles ampliated; mesonotum large, convex; abdomen in male short, broad, about as long as space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation; tympanal coverings very globose and projecting beyond the lateral abdominal margins; opercula m male short, transverse, with their disks a little convex; anterior femora spined beneath; rostrum passing the posterior coxae ; tegmina and wings hyaline, the first usually more or less maculate, apical areas eight, venation normal.

References:

The illustration and genus description comes from the journal Genera Insectorum, and a specific article from 1913 by W. L. Distant titled Homoptera. Fam. Cicadidae, Subfam, Cicadinae. Read it on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website.
Current species name verified using Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).

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June 12, 2011

Laughing Cicada found in the Philippines

Filed under: Philippines — Dan @ 10:41 am

This week there were many news reports that a California Academy of Sciences led expedition (The 2011 Philippine Biodiversity Expedition) of the Philippines discovered a new species of cicada with a call that sounds like laughter. I’d like to see and hear it.

Here’s an article about the expedition, the Laughing Cicada and other new discoveries.

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