Abricta ferruginosa ( Stål, 1866 )

Moulds, M. S., 2003, An Appraisal of the Cicadas of the Genus Abricta Stål and Allied Genera (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadidae), Records of the Australian Museum 55, pp. 245-304 : 260

Abricta ferruginosa ( Stål, 1866)

Figs. 41a,b, 42, 43

Tibicen (Abricta) ferruginosus Stål, 1866 , 27.

Abricta ferruginosa .– Karsch,1890:121; Karsch, 1891: 348; Distant, 1906:130; Orian, 1954: 235; Orian, 1956:651; Mamet, 1957: 73; Metcalf,1963:208; Orian, 1964: 1–3; Dugdale, 1972: 858; Duffels & van der Laan, 1985: 234–235; Boulard, 1990: 209.

Type. Location unknown.

Material examined. MAURITIUS —1 3, G. Autelme, Pres. by Imp. Bur. Ent. Brit. Mus. 1926-403 (no other data apart from Mauritius ); 13, Ile Maurice , Desjardins 2901-40, 338, Distant Coll. 1911-383 ( BMNH). 13, Reduit, 2.x.[19]53, P. Le Merle, Coll. R . Mamet ; 13, 87, Ray. Mamet; 13, 43, Ray. Mamet, Coll. R . Mamet ; 1♀, Curepipe, [?]1903, Coll. R . Mamet ; 13, Desjardins 2771–36 (all labelled Mauritius or Ile Maurice and det. Michel Boulard, 1978) ( MNHP) .

Description

Male ( Figs. 41a, 42, 43). Head. Black with a muddy yellow or brown spot on dorsal midline against posterior margin and sometimes this coloration expanded a little along posterior margin, also sometimes brown on outer margin of lorum. Postclypeus ferruginous brown to dominantly black, usually with black to varying degrees dorsally and as a broad band along ventral midline; a narrow muddy yellow margin laterally of variable length. Anteclypeus black, sometimes tending brown, especially at distal end. Rostrum black but usually with basal region partly brown; reaching to bases of hind coxae. Antennae brown to nearly black. Head usually with some silver pubescence, mainly confined to underside. Thorax. Pronotum ochraceous with black or nearly black markings to varying degree; nearly always with a broad, black fascia on midline spreading laterally at its posterior end against pronotal collar and to a smaller degree at its anterior end which falls just short of pronotal anterior margin; often this fascia internally brown along midline on anterior half; usually with a cluster of black mottling between first and second pronotal grooves and overlaying second groove; black also laterally; never black along anterior margin between eyes; pronotal collar ochraceous to dark ferruginous or a mixture of both, but usually becoming black laterally at or beyond lateral angles. Mesonotum dark ferruginous with a pair of indistinct middorsal obconical dark ferruginous markings based on anterior margin, defined only by a thin ill-defined pale margin; cruciform elevation also dark ferruginous. Ventrally brown rather than dark ferruginous and usually with obvious silver pubescence. Wings. Hyaline but usually with faint brownish tint. Fore wing basal cell tinted golden brown; venation brown with much of costal margin ferruginous; basal membrane brown to blackish. Hind wing plaga muddy white to brown, very broad along vein 3A almost to its distal end and along inner margin with intermediate area bearing dark brown suffusion, also very narrow plaga along vein 2A to its distal end; venation brown. Legs. Ferruginous brown; distal ends of femora usually indistinctly marked yellow, fore femora also usually indistinctly yellow along line of femoral spines. Opercula. Mid to dark brown; rounded, extending to or just beyond margins of tympanal cavities, meeting or very nearly meeting; usually covered to a large degree by fine silver pubescence. Abdomen. Tergites dark ferruginous but tergite 2 sometimes indistinctly pale along its anterior margin. Sternites similar in colour to tergites but sternites III–VI usually with a narrow, orange-brown distal margin. Abdomen above and below often with silver pubescence. Tymbals. Bearing 11– 12 long ribs, otherwise as for generic description. Genitalia ( Figs. 42, 43). Pygofer ferruginous; upper pygofer lobes in lateral view small and rounded, in ventral view broad and rounded; secondary upper pygofer lobes in lateral view pointed and lying just below upper lobes, in ventral view terminating in a tooth-like projection; basal lobes in lateral view barely visible, in ventral view broad, tending angular with rounded apical region. Uncal lobes each terminating in thick-set, down-turned lobe with apex in ventral view bearing a short blunt projection on its outer margin. Conjunctival claws directed ventrally, very small, clawlike, simple.

Female ( Fig. 41b). Colour and markings similar to male except that cruciform elevation is a little paler than remainder of mesothorax on the single available specimen. Abdominal segment 9 ferruginous tending partly brown laterally. Ovipositor sheath dark ferruginous, extending almost 1 mm beyond distal end of dorsal beak.

Measurements. n = 633, 1♀ (includes all available specimens). Length of body: male 28.5–31.4 (29.9); female 32.1. Length of fore wing: male 38.6–46.8 (43.0); female 45.9. Width of head: male 10.2–11.3 (10.9); female 11.1. Width of pronotum: male 11.0–12.9 (12.0); female 12.4.

Remarks. This species is markedly larger than Abricta brunnea ; in fact, within the Abricta complex of genera it is the largest.

Orian (1964) studied the male genitalia of this species, especially the aedeagus. However, I had difficulty in relating some details of his figures to reality, particularly the attachment of the conjunctival claws to the distal end of the theca and the uncal lobes. His description of the cornu also differed from my dissection in relation to the spines that appeared to lie in the opposite direction. Three males of this species in BMNH have had their genitalia removed and these may well have been those examined by Orian. However, the genitalia preparations are apparently lost, it is not possible to assess Orian’s interpretations fully.

Distribution. Known only from Mauritius where, at times, it is common ( Boulard, 1979).

Habitat. Adults inhabit upland rainforest (known locally as maccabe forest), preferring tree trunks below the canopy (O. Griffiths, pers. comm.).