Thorn cicada
| Thorn cicada | ||||||||||||
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Green leaf hoppers ( Centrotus cornutus ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Centrotus cornutus | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The thorn cicada ( Centrotus cornutus ) is a round head cicada (Cicadomorpha) from the order of the Schnabelkerfe (Hemiptera). Ear-shaped protuberances and a pronotum that is extended far back give this representative of the humpback chirps (Membracidae) a bizarre appearance.
distribution and habitat
The thorn cicada is widespread in the Palearctic . It occurs from Europe to Siberia, in the south to North Africa. The animals live in bushy, predominantly moderately moist to dry biotopes .
features
The black-brown thorn leaf hoppers reach body lengths between 7 and 9.6 millimeters, whereby the females are slightly larger than the males. The build is compact. The powerful and significantly hairy neck plate (pronotum) is curved upwardly and pulled backward in a long, wave-shaped extension. In contrast to the similar, but significantly smaller, gorse cicada ( Gargara genistae ), this species has pointed, ear-shaped growths in the front area of the head. The forewings are brownish translucent and streaked with dark veins.
Way of life
While the larvae predominantly stay at the base of their host plants, the adult animals also colonize low-growing trees. In all stages of development, the animals feed on plant sap, which they ingest with their specially constructed, piercing-sucking mouthparts . They are polyphagous , which means that they use many different plant species as food, sucking the sugary phloem sap of the pathways . The larvae feed on thistles ( Cirsium ), ring thistles ( Carduus ) and nettles ( Urtica ), while the adult insects live on poplars ( Populus ), oaks ( Quercus ), blackberries ( Rubus ) and other woody plants.
The insects have a two-year development cycle ( semivoltin ). They overwinter in the larval stage. Adult animals appear from the beginning of May and can be found until the beginning of August.
swell
literature
The information comes from the following literature:
- WE Holzinger, I. Kammerlander, H. Nickel: The Auchenorrhyncha of Central Europe - Die Zikaden Mitteleuropas. Volume 1: Fulgoromorpha, Cicadomorpha excl. Cicadellidae. - Brill, Leiden 2003, ISBN 90-04-12895-6 .
- R. Biedermann & R. Niedringhaus: The cicadas of Germany - identification tables for all species. Fründ, Scheeßel 2004, ISBN 3-00-012806-9 .
- R. Remane & E. Wachmann : Cicadas - get to know, observe. Naturbuch Verlag, Augsburg 1993, ISBN 3-89440-044-7 .
- H. Nickel: The leafhoppers and planthoppers of Germany (Hemiptera, Auchenorrhyncha): Patterns and strategies in a highly diverse group of phytophagous insects. Pensoft, Sofia and Moscow 2003, ISBN 954-642-169-3 .
Web links
- Centrotus cornutus in Fauna Europaea