''Cicada orni'', colloquially called the Common cicada or Ash cicada, is a species of
cicada
The cicadas () are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two ...
belonging to the family
, subfamily
Cicadinae
The Cicadinae are a subfamily of cicadas, containing the translucent cicadas. They are robust cicadas and many have gaudy colors, but they generally lack the butterfly-like Opacity (optics), opaque wing markings found in many species of the rel ...
, and the genus ''
Cicada
The cicadas () are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two ...
''.
The genus name comes directly from the Latin ''cicada'' 'buzzer', while the species name ''orni'' possibly comes from ''
Fraxinus ornus
''Fraxinus ornus'', the manna ash or South European flowering ash, is a species of ''Fraxinus'' native to Southern Europe and Southwestern Asia, from Spain and Italy north to Austria and the Czech Republic, and east through the Balkans, Turkey, a ...
'' (Manna Ash or South European Flowering Ash), where this cicada often lay its eggs deep in branches.
Description
Adult ''Cicada orni'' reach approximately in length, with a wingspan of about . The
cryptic coloration
Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...
of the body varies from brown to gray. The abdomen has reddish segments and a silky pubescence. The head shows large and prominent eyes far apart on the sides, three small eyes (
ocelli
A simple eye or ocellus (sometimes called a pigment pit) is a form of eye or an optical arrangement which has a single lens without the sort of elaborate retina that occurs in most vertebrates. These eyes are called "simple" to distinguish the ...
) located on the top, short
antennae, and a long
proboscis
A proboscis () is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular arthropod mouthparts, mouthparts used for feeding and sucking. In vertebrates, a pr ...
used for feeding on sap. The
membranous
A membrane is a selective barrier; it allows some things to pass through but stops others. Such things may be molecules, ions, or other small particles. Membranes can be generally classified into synthetic membranes and biological membranes. B ...
front wings are transparent with several characteristic black spots.
Habit
Adult cicadas can be encountered in summer feeding on sap from trees or shrubs, with their mouthparts well adapted for piercing and sucking.
Only males produce their calling song, a clicking sound caused by the contraction and relaxation of abdominal membranes (
tymbal
The tymbal (or timbal) is the corrugated exoskeletal structure used to produce sounds in insects. In male cicadas, the tymbals are membranes in the abdomen, responsible for the characteristic sound produced by the insect. In tiger moths, the t ...
). This song has the function of sexual attraction for females. Usually males sing in aggregations of many individuals on sunny tree branches. When the males are approached by the females, the courtship takes place, in which cicadas repeatedly hug and touch each other with their legs. At the end of this process they mate in the same place.
The adult cicadas lay their eggs in the summer, which hatch in late summer or autumn. While their lifespan as adults lasts only about a month and a half for breeding, the larvae live for several years underground, feeding on the juices of plant roots.
Distribution
This species is one of the most common in southern and central
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, in the
Near East
The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...
, and in
North Africa
North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
.
Gallery
File:Cicadidae 2017 Koroni 08.jpg, ''Cicada orni'', side view
File:Cicadidae - Cicada orni-4.JPG, ''Cicada orni'', the courtship
File:Exuviva cicada 2017 Greece.jpg, Exuvia
In biology, exuviae are the remains of an exoskeleton and related structures that are left after ecdysozoans (including insects, crustaceans and arachnids) have molted. The exuviae of an animal can be important to biologists as they can often b ...
of ''Cicada orni''
File:Cicada orni producing a sound and shaking its abdomen.webm, ''Cicada orni'' producing a sound and shaking its abdomen
External links
Fauna EuropaeaBiolibSound recordings of ''Cicada orni'' at BioAcoustica
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2471275
Cicadini
Hemiptera of Africa
Hemiptera of Europe
Insects of the Middle East
Insects described in 1758
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus