{"id":6467,"date":"2012-07-11T00:10:40","date_gmt":"2012-07-10T21:10:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klqewmpxo.cyon.link\/?page_id=6467"},"modified":"2026-02-13T21:27:58","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T19:27:58","slug":"zikaden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/azalas.de\/en\/cicadas\/","title":{"rendered":"Cicadas"},"content":{"rendered":"

G<\/big>reek summer means heat, wind, a dry landscape, and the endless song of grasshoppers and cicadas. Especially cicadas. From sunrise to sunset, the shrilling of the cicadas echoes tirelessly from the trees. It’s hard to believe what an intense sound these little animals can produce.<\/p>\n

Here you can skip the introduction and go directly to the species.<\/a><\/p>\n

B<\/big>ut however astonishing they are, the vocalisations are not the only amazing thing about cicadas, who are truly fascinating insects. Around 40,000 species of cicadas are known wordwide. They live wherever plants exist, and play an important role in the ecosystems and the food chain. Many cicadas are adapted to specific host plants and environmental conditions, making them very sensitive to disturbances in the ecosystem. Thus many species are threatened at least in parts of their area of distribution. Cicadas are completely harmless insects: they cannot bite or sting. In many parts of the world, cicadas are in fact used as food by humans – over 70 edible cicada species exist worldwide.<\/p>\n

C<\/big>icadas, together with bugs<\/a> and aphids (plus related groups), belong to the insect order Hemiptera<\/em>, the members of which are characterised by their piercing-sucking mouthparts and other anatomical features. They form the suborder Auchenorrhyncha<\/em> which apart from the cicadas includes also the spittlebugs and the plant-, frog- and leafhoppers.<\/p>\n

Anatomy and locomotion<\/h3>\n

T<\/big>he True cicadas (Cicadidae)<\/em> show a typical body shape that makes them easily recognisable. They are rather short, and their wings are carried roof-like over the back. The head is broad with short antennae and widely spaced compound eyes, which provide the cicadas with good eyesight including the perception of colours. As with most insects, three small simple eyes (ocelli) are located on the front of the forehead, which are thought to be used primarily for horizon detection, light compass orientation and light intensity measurement.<\/p>\n

\"Common
\nThe head of the Common cicada from above. You can see the short, thin antennae, the compound eyes located far to the outside and the upper two of the three triangular ocelli (simple eyes).<\/small><\/p>\n

C<\/big>icadas are good flyers, with their front wings and the smaller rear wings coupled together in flight by small hooks. Many cicadas (but not the True cicadas, to which the Common cicada belongs) can also jump. Spittlebugs are even world champions at jumping: although they are only half a centimeter in size, they can jump 70 cm high. Like grasshoppers, they jump with their hind legs, which are not particularly large or conspicuous. They achieve their unlikely jumps due to a special technique: They build up tension in their legs, which is then suddenly released, propelling the animal away as if from a catapult.<\/p>\n

\"Common
\nThe wings of cicadas are completely transparent except for the veins and several characteristic dark spots. One can hardly believe that this delicate structure can withstand the strain of flying! Cicadas use their front and rear wings to fly; the latter are significantly smaller and are attached to the front wings with small hooks during flight.<\/small><\/p>\n

Development and diet<\/h3>\n

C<\/big>icadas are insects with incomplete metamorphosis, which means that they go through several larval stages (usually five) during which they gradually become more similar to the adult without entering a pupal stage. While the adult animals live for less than a year, larval development usually takes several years, for example five years in the case of the Common cicada. Some North American species that take as long as 13 or 17 years to develop, with the entire population hatching at the same time (within a few days!) and then reproducing all together. Accordingly, these species only appear every 13 or 17 years and then occur in large numbers for a short period of time.<\/p>\n

T<\/big>he larvae of cicadas live underground. They feed by sucking sap from plant roots. Their front legs are shaped like digging shovels, which they use to burrow 15 cm to 3 m deep in the ground. When the time has come for the eclosion which turns them into imagos (adults), they leave the ground and cling to a plant stem, where their empty skins (exuvia) can later be found.<\/p>\n

\"Common<\/p>\n

\"Common
\nEmpty skin (exuvia) of a cicada, showing the digging claws, legs, wing buds, eyes, etc. The skin burst open on the back to allow the adult insect to emerge.<\/small><\/p>\n

A<\/big>dult cicadas feed on plant sap, which they suck using a proboscis. The proboscis is placed under the abdomen when it is not in use. Many species specialise in only a few host plants. While most cicadas suck the sugary sap transported in the phloem from the leaves downwards, the Common cicadas tap into sap of the xylem, which rises from the roots and consists mostly of water. Accordingly, they need to consume significantly more fluid to meet their nutritional requirements. Unlike many other insects, cicadas do not usually cause any noticeable damage to plants, even when they occur in large numbers.<\/p>\n

\"Common
\nHere you can see the long, thin proboscis, which the manna cicada uses to pierce the trees’ bark and suck the sap of the xylem. This proboscis seems to me to be another marvel of nature: How does such a thin, flexible proboscis manage to pierce into hard wood?<\/small><\/p>\n

Vocalisations and hearing<\/h3>\n

A<\/big>nd now to the song. Only the males of the cicadas sing; the song serves to mark their territory and to attract females. Unlike grasshoppers, cicadas do not produce their sounds by stridulation, for example of their wings, but by a form of drumming. On the side of the abdomen lies the tymbal with which the sound is produced, a structure consisting of sound plates reinforced by small ribs, which are stretched with the help of special muscles and then spring back with a crack, like the pressed-through lid of a metal can. An air sac in the abdomen below serves as resonance chamber. Continuous tensioning and springing back causes the tymbal to vibrate, producing the shrill song of the cicada.<\/p>\n

\"Common
\nHere you can see the tymbal organ of the male Common cicada directly behind the wing base.<\/small><\/p>\n

I<\/big>t is quite astonishing what loud noises these small insects can produce with their tymbal organ: Some species reach up to 120 dB, which is equivalent to a chainsaw or a jackhammer! It is also fascinating to see the insistance with which cicadas sing almost continuously for hours on end. Incidentally, the smaller cicada species also produce similar songs, but these are inaudible to the human ear.<\/p>\n

T<\/big>he hearing organs of cicadas, the tympana, lie on the underside of their abdomen; they comprise a pair of membranes that perceive vibrations. They also have (simpler) vibration receptors in other parts of their bodies, and it is possible that they obtain information about the ground they are sitting on.<\/p>\n

Cicadas in myth and art<\/h3>\n

D<\/big>ue to their conspicuous song, cicadas appear in the art and myths of many peoples (southern Europe, Asia and America). Insects believed to be cicadas can be found in Mycenaean depictions. Cicadas also appear in ancient Greek literature, for example in the Iliad. Anacreon wrote a hymn to the “godlike cicadas”, which was translated by Goethe, among others. The poet Xenarchos is credited with the saying, “The cicadas live happily because they have silent wives.” However, the best-known work dealing with cicadas is without doubt Aesop’s famous fable of the cicada (not the cricket or grasshopper) and the ant.<\/p>\n

A<\/big>mong various peoples, cicadas were regarded as symbols of the love of song and the muses (Greece), rebirth (China), immortality (North American Indians), power (Romans and Goths) and troubadours (medieval Europe, especially southern France). In ancient Athens, they were also considered a symbol of autonomy.<\/p>\n

I<\/big>n addition to their loud song, what gave rise to these notions was the fact that the cicadas crawl out of the earth (autonomy), as well as the transformation of the larva into the adult cicada by eclusion. This shedding of the skin was understood as the shedding of physical needs and the liberation of the soul (rebirth and immortality).
\n
<\/p>\n

\nCicada species on Naxos<\/font><\/a><\/p>\n

Cicada species on Naxos<\/h3>\n

The Photo gallery of the cicadas, the orthoptera and related groups<\/strong><\/a> gives an overview over the species.<\/p>\n

A note on identification:<\/strong> While some of the cicada species can be identified easily and reliably, this does not apply to all species. Many species are relatively unknown and mostly overlooked, and even on the internet it is often difficult to find information about them. In many cases, accurate identification requires characteristics that cannot be seen in photographs and require examination of the dead animal under a magnifying glass or microscope. For this reason, the identification of several species in the following description must remain uncertain.<\/small><\/p>\n

Here you can jump directly to the larger groups within the cicadas<\/strong> (return with the back arrow or by swiping back):
\nCommon cicada<\/a>   –  Cicadetta montana<\/a>   –  Spittle bugs<\/a>   –  Planthoppers<\/a>   –  Cixiidae<\/a> <\/p>\n

Common cicada, Cicada orni<\/em>, L.<\/a><\/h6>\n

N<\/big>umerous species of cicada occur on Naxos, but by far the most conspicuous is the very abundant Common cicada (Cicada orni)<\/em>. It is brownish in colour; its wings are transparent with dark spots at several points on the veins. The end of the abdomen shows a white ring. Common cicadas reach a size of almost 3 cm in body length. They usually sit in large trees (especially olive and plane trees), often on the underside of thick branches. Their camouflage makes them difficult to spot.<\/p>\n

\"Common
\nCommon cicada on an olive tree. Note the roof-like position of the almost transparent wings and the short antennae.<\/small><\/p>\n

\"Common
\nHere you can see the eyes positioned far tonthe sides on the head and the white tip of the abdomen.<\/small><\/p>\n

\"Common
\nThe sonogram shows the steady, continuous “sawing” song of the Common cicada.<\/small><\/p>\n

Cicadetta montana<\/em>, Scopoli<\/a><\/h6>\n

I<\/big>n May, before the Common cicadas appear, we often hear a grasshopper-like chirping in our garden, which alerts us to the presence of another species: Cicadetta montana<\/em>. With a little patience, the singing males are easy to find and observe.<\/p>\n

\"Cicadetta
\nWith up to 2 cm length, Cicadetta montana<\/em> is slightly smaller than the Common cicada. It can be recognised by the orange and black colouring of its abdomen. There are a number of similar species that are difficult to distinguish in the field.<\/small><\/p>\n

\"Cicadetta
\nAs can be seen from this sonogram, the song of Cicadetta montana<\/em> is not a continuous sawing like that of the Common cicada, but a shorter, buzzing verse with two short chirping sounds at the beginning; it sounds more like a grasshopper.<\/small><\/p>\n

Spittlebugs<\/a><\/h6>\n

T<\/big>he spittlebugs (Aphrophoridae)<\/em> are small and inconspicuous, usually brown or green in colour with few characteristics that could help with their identification. The name spittlebug derives from the foam nest that the larvae build, and in which they are protected from predators and from dehydration. Larvae and adults suck the xylem sap of various plants; usually they do not specialise in a single plant species. To date, 850 species have been described, occurring all over the world except in the polar regions. The males have a tymbal organ with which they produce songs to attract females.<\/p>\n

\"spittlebug\"
\nThe small, compact, inconspicuous and well-camouflaged spittlebugs are rarely noticed. They feed on plant sap. The larvae live in foam nests, hence the name.<\/small><\/p>\n

\"foam
\nThe foam nest of the spittlebugs protects the larvae from dehydration and from predators.<\/small><\/p>\n

\"spittlebug\"
\nThis species might be the common Meadow spittlebug (Philaenus spumarius)<\/em>. Identification is difficult because the colouring is very variable. <\/small><\/p>\n

\"spittlebugs\"
\nThese could be other colour variants of the Meadow spittlebug, which occurs in 16 different colour phenotypes.<\/small><\/p>\n

T<\/big>he most remarkable feature of spittlebugs is their amazing ability to jump. They can jump to a height of more 100 times their body length. Interestingly, their hind legs, which they use to jump, are neither particularly long nor thick. The jump is made possible by muscles that attach to the hind legs but are located in the abdomen. These muscles build up a high tension in the abdomen, which is suddenly released by a “jump” of the chitin plates with an audible crack, so that the cicada is literally catapulted away. Often, it flies a short distance after jumping.<\/p>\n

\"spittlebug\"
\nThe small spittlebugs can jump 100 times their body length. After jumping once or twice, they need a pause to build up the tension for the next jump. In this state, you can push the spittlebug onto its back. Here you can see the underside.<\/small><\/p>\n

\"spittlebug\"<\/p>\n

\"spittlebug\"
\nTo turn around, the spittlebug unfolds its hind wings.<\/small><\/p>\n

Agalmatium<\/em> spec.<\/a><\/h6>\n

T<\/big>he small planthoppers belong to the family Issidae<\/em>. They are mainly found in the tropical areas; in Europe, they are mostly restricted to the Mediterranean region.<\/p>\n

P<\/big>lanthoppers, here probably of the genus Agalmatium<\/em>, have a stocky body shape. They only grow to around 4 mm in size. Often, as here, several individuals can be seen sitting in a row on a plant stalk; when you approach, they disappear always on the back of the stem, which makes photographing them quite difficult.<\/p>\n

\"Agalmatium
\nThese stocky, beige-coloured planthoppers probably belong to the genus Agalmatium<\/em>.<\/small><\/p>\n

Cixiidae<\/em><\/a><\/h6>\n

A<\/big>nother group of the planthoppers are the Cixiidae<\/em> which comprise over 2000 species. They are medium-sized and live on plants, sucking their sap. They are quite rare, and one hardly ever sees one.<\/p>\n

\"Cixiidae\"<\/p>\n

\"Cixiidae\"
\nThis small planthopper with beautifully veined wings might belong to the species Pentastira rorida<\/em> of the Cixiidae<\/em>.<\/small><\/p>\n

To the photo gallery<\/a><\/p>\n

continue: Orthoptera (Crickets and grashoppers)<\/a><\/p>\n

back:<\/p>\n