LIBRARY

312
COLLEGE ENTOMOLOGY
present. Middle coxre elongate, widely separated; hind coxre fused with metasternum.
Hind tibire without movable spur. Scutellum somewhat rhomboidal.
Abdominal tergites 6, 7, 8 without wax pores. Females often with tails on either
side of the oviduct.
The members are chiefly plant feeders and are able to jump rapidly. Although
abundant in the temperate regions', they reach their highest development
in the tropics. The most important genera in the Holarctic region are
Bothriocera Burm., Cixius Latr., Helicoptera A. and S., Hyalesthes Signoret,
Myndus Stal, fEcleus Stal, and Oliarus Stal.
Family FLATIDlE Spinola 1839.
A family of curiously formed moth-like species which frequently have large
triangular wings held roof-like close to the body, giving a decidedly laterally
compressed appearance. They are further distinguished by the cross-veined
costal cen and granulated clavus. The temperate forms are usually somber in
color while the tropical species are among the brightest and most colorful of
insects, some species being dimorphic in coloration. .
II. Superfamily CICADOIDEA Ashmead 1904
Family CICADIDlE 1 (Latreille 1802) (Ci-cad'i-dre, from the Latin cicada, a tree
cricket). German, Singzikaden. French, Cigales. Cicadas, Harvest Flies.
The cicadas or harvest flies are medium to large, robust insects varying in
size from the small Okanagana minuta Davis of western North America which
is only 16 mm. long to the large Pomponia adusta (Walker) of Java which measures
80 mm. in length. They are among the most interesting of all insects and
are characterized by having wholly membranous wings; three ocelli in a triangle
between the eyes; the rostrum long and arising plainly from the head;
and small bristle-like five- to six-segmented antennre arising from a short basal
segment; fore femora thickened and usually spined ventrally; tarsi threesegmented;
claws without empodia; males with few exceptions having a welldeveloped
tympanum sounding organ on each ventral side of the base of the
abdomen. The adults vary much in color and while the temperate species are
rather somber, tan, gray, or very dark with green, red, brown, and white markings,
the tropical species may be arrayed in brilliant hues. one Chinese species
being red and black.
These insects inhabit chiefly areas partly forested with deciduous trees and
shrubs, although certain species live among grasses and weeds in more or less
forested regions. They are everywhere known by the loud. shrill. monotonous
mating call of the male which rings forth on hot sunny days in late spring and
1 Latreille grouped these insects as C!CADARliE in 1802 and Leach erected the tribe
CICADIDES and the family CICADIDA in 1815. The latter was changed to CICADIDA':
by SarnoueJle in 1819 and has been generally accepted for this homogenous group of remarkable
insects.