Abricta 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 : 257-258

Genus Abricta Stål, 1866

Tibicen (Abricta) Stål, 1866: 26 ; Dallas, 1867: 556; Atkinson, 1886: 187; Karsch, 1890: 116; Distant, 1892a: 127 (error); Schulze et al., 1926: 4.

Abricta .– Karsch, 1890: 86, 108, 111; Karsch, 1891: 348; Karsch, 1893: 13; Kirkaldy, 1904: 282; Distant, 1905a: 27; Kuhlgatz, 1905: 78–80; Distant, 1906: 130; Froggatt, 1907: 351; Ashton, 1912: 24; Ashton, 1914: 349; Hardy, 1918: 70; Distant, 1920: 456; Delétang, 1923: 629; Handlirsch, 1925: 1116; China, 1929: 426, 427; Kato, 1932: 179, 181; Neave, 1939: 5; Orian, 1954: 235, 236; Tillyard, 1926: 161; Kato, 1956: 62, 69, 84; Dlabola, 1971: 151; Dugdale, 1972: 857; Young, 1973: 378; Fleming, 1975: 300; Popov, 1975a: 34; Popov, 1975b: 288; Richards & Davies, 1977: 184; Simmons & Young, 1978: 43; Boulard, 1979: 31, 33; Duffels & van der Laan, 1985: 233; Moulds, 1990: 118; Moulds & Carver, 1991: 467; Ewart, 1993: 139, 140; Zborowski & Storey, 1995: 87.

Type species. Tettigonia brunnea Fabricius, 1798 (type by subsequent designation).

Stål (1866) included three species in Abricta ( brunnea , ferruginosa and tephrogaster , the latter in a footnote) without selecting one as type species. Distant (1905a) was the first to do so, selecting brunnea . Under Article 69.1 of the Code Distant’s designation fixes brunnea as type species.

Included species. In its present concept the genus Abricta contains only two species: brunnea Fabricius and ferruginosa Stål.

Diagnosis. Postclypeus slightly to moderately produced. Rostrum almost reaching or slightly passing hind coxae. Eyes large, their long axes together comprising approximately half total width of head. Width of head including eyes greater than width of anterior pronotum and nearly equal to width of mesonotum; width of male abdomen about equal to width of thorax. Pronotal collar narrow with lateral angles ampliate and rounded; rudimentary and essentially confluent with adjoining sclerites anterior of lateral angles. Wings hyaline or with weak translucent tint; without infuscations. Fore wing costal margin weakly ampliate to node, the maximum dilation less than width of costal vein; basal cell usually with translucent pigmentation, hyaline in some individuals. Hind wing plaga broad along vein 3A and inner margin of anal lobe but never reaching distal end of 3A, absent or barely present along 2A. Tymbals with 11–14 long ribs evenly spaced and slightly converging dorsally; basal plate small ( Fig. 19). Male opercula almost tear-drop in shape, weakly angled inwards before midpoint; nearly flat; meeting but not overlapping and extending distally to margin of tympanal cavities. Body and basal fore wing veins with some silver pubescence, probably extensive on newly emerged individuals.

Male genitalia ( Figs. 37, 38, 42, 43) with pygofer dorsal beak large, long and pointed; upper pygofer lobes well developed, pointed and highly sclerotized, lacking setae; secondary upper pygofer lobes rounded, bearing long setae; pygofer basal lobes undivided, moderately developed, triangular in ventral view, bearing long setae. Uncal lobes disc-like, tending towards meeting but never doing so, each terminating in a thick-set, down-turned, blunt projection; uncal lateral processes absent. Aedeagus in lateral view straight or gently curved for most of its length but strongly recurved near base, basal plate a fused pair of nearly circular discs; conjunctival claws directed ventrally, simple, arising from inner surface of a large lateral basal flange; flabellum and palearis absent.

Female abdominal segment 9 very long, clearly more than half as long as abdominal remainder, nearly conical; ovipositor sheath terminating beyond distal end of dorsal beak.

Distinguishing features. The disc-like male uncal lobes combined with the reduced conjunctival claws clearly separate Abricta and Abroma from Tryella n.gen., Aleeta n.gen. and Chrysolasia n.gen. Further, the weak ampliation of the fore wing costa of Abricta and Abroma immediately distinguishes these genera from Aleeta and Tryella in which the maximum ampliation at least equals the width of the costal vein. Abricta and Abroma are readily distinguished from Monomatapa by having the male opercula nearly parallel-sided, rounded and meeting or almost meeting rather than tending linear and tear-drop shaped and clearly separated, the width of the male abdomen being equal to that of the thorax rather than notably wider, and the apices of the uncal lobes simply pointed rather than double-pointed.

Differentiation from Abroma is relatively subtle; the conjunctival claws of Abroma guerinii , the type species of Abroma , are apically bifurcate rather than simple and the pygofer basal lobes are more developed.

Remarks. My limited study of Abroma supports Boulard’s (1979, 1990) suggestion that Abricta and Abroma may be synonymous. However, a full appraisal of all Abroma species should be undertaken, and this falls beyond the limits of this study; consequently the synonymy of Abricta and Abroma will not be pursued here.

Distribution. Restricted to the islands of Mauritius and Reunion.

Behaviour. Unconfirmed reports (O. Griffiths, pers. comm.) say adult males perch head down.