''Cicadetta montana'' is a species of '' Cicadetta'' found throughout Europe and in parts of Asia. It is regarded as endangered over large parts of Europe, and has vanished from several areas in Western Europe. It is the only cicada species native to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

(Åminnefors in Pohja). The adult females inject their eggs into the stems of food plants, and, when the larvae emerge, they burrow underground and as

nymphs A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

feeding on root sap. These underground cycles may last many years, differing for each species. Females have a body measuring about 50 mm in length, with the males being much smaller. It has transparent wings with prominent veins, folded over the back when at rest, and a dark slate-grey or black body with dull orange rings around the abdomen. The legs are marked with dull orange as are the leading edges of the wings (costae). As with all cicadas, the males produce the shrill, buzzing calls by rapidly flexing drumhead-like membranes, while the females are limited to producing clicks. The call of ''C montana'' sounds like static hiss to the unaided human ear and is sustained with relatively short lulls at irregular intervals. Their shrilling was venerated by the ancient Greeks, but detested by

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

Food plants

*''

Betula pendula ''Betula pendula'', commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family (biology), family Betulaceae, native plant, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in so ...

'' (European white birch) *'' Betula pubescens'' (downy birch) *''

Corylus avellana ''Corylus avellana'', the common hazel, is a species of flowering plant in the birch tree, birch family Betulaceae. The shrubs usually grow tall. The nut is round, in contrast to the longer Corylus maxima, filbert nut. Common hazel is native to E ...

'' (common hazel) *''

Crataegus monogyna ''Crataegus monogyna'', known as common hawthorn, whitethorn, one-seed hawthorn, or single-seeded hawthorn, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family, Rosaceae. It grows to about tall, producing plant sexuality, hermaphrodite flowers i ...

'' (common hawthorn) *''

Fagus sylvatica ''Fagus sylvatica'', the European beech or common beech, is a large, graceful deciduous tree in the Fagaceae, beech family with smooth silvery-gray bark, large leaf area, and a short trunk with low branches. Description ''Fagus sylvatica'' i ...

'' (European beech) *'' Pteridium aquilinum'' (northern bracken fern) *''

Quercus robur ''Quercus robur'', the pedunculate oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native plant, native to most of Europe and western Asia, and is widely cultivated in other temperate regions. It ...

'' (pedunculate oak) *''

Ulex europaeus ''Ulex europaeus'', commonly known as gorse, common gorse, furze or whin, is a species of flowering plant native to Western Europe. Description Growing to tall, it is an evergreen shrub. The young stems are green, with the shoots and leaves ...

'' (common gorse)

Taxonomic history

In 1772, Scopoli described and named the type specimen from

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

as ''Melampsalta montana'', and this was later changed to ''Cicadetta montana''. It has turned out to be not a single taxon, but a complex of closely related species distinguishable by their songs. Using this method of differentiation, at least 10 species have been separated from the complex. Classification by calls has led to three main groups being proposed which largely correspond with the

clades In biology, a clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach to taxonomy ...

suggested by DNA analyses – one new species not fitting in the proposed scheme.

Synonyms

*''Melampsalta montana'' Scopoli, 1772 *''Cicadetta flavofenestrata'' Goeze, 1778 *''C. schafferi'' Gmelin, 1780 *''C. pygmaea'' Olivier, 1790 *''C. dimidiata'' Fabricius, 1803 *''C. anglica'' Samouelle, 1819 *''C. parvula'' Walker, 1850 *''C. saxonica'' Hartwig, 1857 *''C. megerlei'' Fieber, 1876 *''C. longipennis'' Fieber, 1876

New Forest cicada project

''C. montana'' has not been seen or heard anywhere in Britain since 2000. In 2013, in an attempt to locate remaining specimens, developers have written

application software Application software is any computer program that is intended for end-user use not operating, administering or programming the computer. An application (app, application program, software application) is any program that can be categorized as ...

for

smartphone A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...

s, enabling users to listen to sound frequencies beyond the normal human range. Up to December 2015, over 3,000 people had downloaded the ″Hunt for the New Forest Cicada app″ without success in Britain, although the app has recorded the insect in Slovenia. From 2016 onwards, 100 autonomous acoustic monitoring devices were to be deployed each year throughout the New Forest. ''C. montana'' also disappeared between 1941 and 1961, so their current absence may be part of a cycle. In 2024 a project to re-introduce the species to the New Forest was launched by the Species Recovery Trust. The project will involve capturing individuals from the Idrija region of Slovenia, with some to be captive bred and others released into a series of carefully monitored locations.

References

External links

''A review of the genera of Australian cicadas'' - M. S. Moulds
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5119333 Cicadettini Hemiptera of Europe New Forest Insects described in 1772 Taxa named by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli