Umbonia crassicornis

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Umbonia crassicornis
Umbonia crassicornis

Umbonia crassicornis

Systematics
Subordination : Risso cicadas (Cicadomorpha)
Superfamily : Membracoidea
Family : Humpback chirps (Membracidae)
Subfamily : Centrotinae
Genre : Umbonia
Type : Umbonia crassicornis
Scientific name
Umbonia crassicornis
( Amyot & Serville , 1843)

Umbonia crassicornis is a common and widespread species of cicada from the genus Umbonia in the family of the humpback chirps (Membracidae). Because of their appearance it is a thorn cicadas (Engl. Thorn bugs ) characterized.

distribution

The distribution area extends from the north of South America and Central America over Mexico to Florida . The species prefers to live on subtropical ornamental and fruit trees. In the United States comes Umbonia Crassicornis on Hibiscus , Calliandra , Albizia lebbek , acacia ( Acacia ago) and a number of other plants. In Colombia , the species is known as a pest on the mimosa family Pithecellobium dulce . In the event of mass infestation, Umbonia crassicornis damage the host plants and can even lead to death.

features

The body length is on average 15 mm in females and around 10 mm in males. The species is very variable in size, color and shape. In particular, the pronotale horn of the male cicadas can be very differently pronounced. It is often more angled and sometimes enlarged. Usually the adult animals are green or yellow with reddish and brownish lines and spots. Young larvae have three tips on the pronotum.

The species is most likely to be confused with certain variations of Platycotis vittata in the field. Platycotis vittata occurs only on oak trees ( Quercus sp.), While Umbonia crassicornis can live on many different plants.

Ecology and way of life

The species is sub-social, which means that it mostly occurs in groups. The females lay their eggs in soft twigs and stay with the egg packets. Then guard and protect their offspring ( nymphs ), this can be about 15 to 50 individuals. To make it easier for the larvae to feed, the females prick the twigs so that the larvae can suckle the pricks. For example, when the larvae are attacked by the wasp species Pseudopolybia compressa , the females produce a synchronous song and the mother tries to drive the wasp away by vibrating and clicking the wings. The larvae also produce synchronous sounds through vibrations.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ McKamey, SH: Taxonomic Catalog of the Membracoidea (exclusive of leafhoppers) . In: Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute . tape 60 , 1998, pp. 1-377 .
  2. ↑ LL Deitz & MS Wallace: Richness of the nearctic Treehopper Fauna (Hemiptera: Aetalionidae and Membracidae) . In: Zootaxa . tape 3423 , 2012, p. 1-26 .
  3. ^ A b C. Godoy, X. Miranda & K. Nishida: Treehoppers of tropical America. Ed .: Instituto national de Biodiversidad. Santo Domingo de Heredia, Costa Rica 2006, ISBN 9968-927-10-4 , pp. 352 .
  4. ↑ a b F. W. Mead: Thorn Bug, Umbonia crassicornis (Amyot and Serville) (Insecta: Hemiptera: Membracidae) . Ed .: Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. EENY-175, 2014, p. 1–3 ( ufl.edu [PDF]).
  5. ↑ a b Creão-Duarte & AM Sakakibara: Revisão do gênero Umbonia Burmeister (Homoptera, Membracidae, Membracinae, Hoplophorionini). In: Revista Bresileira de Zoologia . tape 13 , no. 4 , 1996, pp. 973-994 .
  6. ↑ RB Cocroft: Vibrational Communication and the Ecology of Group Living, Herbivorous Insects . In: American Zoologist . tape 41 , 2001, p. 1215-1221 .

Web links

Commons : Umbonia crassicornis  - collection of images, videos and audio files