PSYCHE 
VOL. XXXIII. JUNE 1926 
No. 3 
NEW OR LITTLE-KNOWN AUSTRALASIAN CICADAS OF 
THE GENUS MELAMPSALTA, WITH NOTES ON 
SONGS BY IRIS MYERS. 1 
By J. G. Myers, 
1851 Exhibition Scholar for New Zealand, 1924. 
The purpose of the present paper is threefold; firstly to des- 
cribe a few new species brought to light by further collecting in 
the river-beds and mountains of the South Island, secondly to 
record the songs of several forms not known to us firsthand in 
1924 (v. Myers and Myers), and thirdly to present taxonomic 
notes on a number of Australian and one New Caledonian cicada 
which indicate the nearest relationships and the probable origin 
of the cicada fauna of the Dominion. It is reserved for a later 
paper to trace the supposed lines of evolution of the nineteen 
cicadas now known in New Zealand, and to show how the descen- 
dants of one immigrant form are believed to have colonised the 
various ethological stations offered by the diversified New Zealand 
countryside. 
A plea is made for the completer use of the male genitalia in 
cicada systematics. The sedeagus at least should be dissected out 
and mounted for microscopic examination. After considerable- 
trial I prefer not to use KOH at all, but to dissect directly in 
water, either fresh or relaxed material. The lateral pieces of the 
sedeagus are often so tenuous as to be distorted if not destroyed 
by caustic, while the whole structure is relatively so great that 
direct dissection and careful removal of muscles is a speedy and 
easy task. If necessary the pygophor may be returned to its 
natural position after the sedeagus and one or both copulatory 
hooks have been removed. 
Contribution from the Entomological Laboratory of the Bussey Institu- 
tion, Harvard University. No. 265. 
