Zoohgy.} NATURAL HISTORY OF VICTORIA. {Irueeta. 



Plate 50, Fig. 1. 



CICADA MCERENS (Germ.). 



The Great Black, or Makna Cicada. 



[Genus CICADA (Linn.)- (Sub-kingd. Articulata. Class lusecta. Order Hemlptera. Tribe 

 Homoptera. Sect. Trimera. Fam. Cicadida;. Sect. Octicella.) 



Ge7i. Char. — Head large, wide, short. Eyes round, of moderate size, very prominent, abore 

 the anterior edge of the prothorax ; 3 small ocelli in a group on top of head. Prothorax trans- 

 Terse, not dilated at the sides ; mesothorax not deeply notched behind. Snund-drunis of males 

 moderately open above, not forming large sacks on the sides ; opercula not much lengthened. 

 Tarsi of 3 joints.] 



Description. — Above, and legs, and veins of wings, brownish-black, with few 

 greyish hairs, most numerous on the sides of the abdominal segments ; two yellowish- 

 brown spots, their own diameter apart, on middle of posterior edge of mesothorax, 

 and two much smaller spots of bright amber hairs, one at each anterior lateral angle ; 

 underside of abdomen light-yellowish brown; eyes orange; ocelli red; anterior wings 

 with an oblique TF-shaped brown mark on transverse veins at distal ends of 1st and 

 2nd disc-areolets ; hinder wings with distal edges of marginal areolets thickened 

 with dark-brown. Length of body, 1 inch 5| lines; length of anterior wing, 1 inch 

 9 lines ; expanse, 3 inches 10 lines. Length of pupa, 1 inch 4 lines ; pupa skin 

 of a pale horn color. 



The sexes are nearly alike in size and color, but are of course easily distin- 

 guished by the male having the two large, subtrigonal, dark-brown covers to the 

 sound organs on the undersides of junction of thorax and abdomen ; while the 

 female wants the sound organs, but has the sides of the 8th joint of the abdomen 

 enlarged and inflected below to cover the ovipositor and saw. The joints and a few 

 stripes on the anterior legs are pale-brownish, and the middle of the thorax between 

 base of legs below brownish black. Some specimens are more tomentose than others, 

 but the hairs rarely form distinct patches on the sides ; the sides of the thorax below 

 are covered with pale, close hairs. On the whole the species varies very little in 

 size or color. The sulci on the thorax, and the relative proportions of the cells of 

 the wings, are accurately represented in our figure, and need not be described. The 

 basal areolet of the anterior wings is hyaline. Two or 3 small tiiangular teeth 

 on outer edge of anterior thighs. 



Reference. — Germar in Silbermann's Revue Entom., vol. 2, p. 67. 



The Cicadae, forming the old geuus Cicada of Linnaeus, constitute 

 now the family Cicadidce, to the section Octicelli of which (or those 

 having 8 marginal cells to the upjjer wings) the two kinds figured 

 on our plate belong. They are the largest and most fomous of 

 the Homopterous insects, remarkable above all things for the loud 

 song or chirping whir of the males in the heat of the smnmer. 

 Our Cicada mcerens^ here figured for the first time, produces an 

 almost deafening sound from the numbers of the individuals in the 



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