''Cicada orni'', or other names as Common cicada, & Ash cicada, is a species of cicada belonging to the family Cicadidae, subfamily Cicadinae and the genus '' Cicada''. The genus name comes directly from the Latin ''cicada'' 'buzzer', while the species name ''orni'' possibly comes from ''

Fraxinus ornus ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45–65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous, though a number of subtropical species are evergr ...

'' (Manna Ash or South European Flowering Ash), where this cicada often lay its eggs deep in branches.

Description

The adults of ''Cicada orni'' reach approximately in length, with a wingspan of about . The

cryptic coloration Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

of the body varies from brown to gray. The abdomen has reddish segments and a silky pubescence. The head shows large and prominent eyes far apart on the sides, three small eyes ( ocelli) located on the top, very short antennae and a long

proboscis A proboscis () is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular mouthparts used for feeding and sucking. In vertebrates, a proboscis is an elong ...

used for feeding on sap. The membranous front wings are transparent, with well-drawn veins and several characteristic black spots.

Habit

Adult cicadas can be encountered in summer feeding on sap from trees or shrubs, with their mouthparts well adapted for piercing and sucking. Only males produce their well-known calling song, a clicking sound caused by the contraction and relaxation of abdominal membranes ( tymbal). This song has the function of sexual attraction for females. Usually males sing in aggregations of many individuals on sunny tree branches. When the males are approached by the females, the courtship takes place, in which cicadas repeatedly hug and touch each other with their legs. At the end of this process they mate in the same place. The adult cicadas lay their eggs in the summer, which hatch in late summer or autumn. While their lifespan as adults lasts only about a month and a half for breeding, the larvae live for several years underground, feeding on juices of plant roots.

Distribution

This species is one of the most common in southern and central

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, in the

Near East The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...

and in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

Gallery

File:Cicadidae 2017 Koroni 08.jpg, ''Cicada orni'', side view File:Cicadidae - Cicada orni-4.JPG, ''Cicada orni'', the courtship File:Exuviva cicada 2017 Greece.jpg,

Exuvia In biology, exuviae are the remains of an exoskeleton and related structures that are left after ecdysozoans (including insects, crustaceans and arachnids) have moulted. The exuviae of an animal can be important to biologists as they can often b ...

of ''Cicada orni'' File:Cicada orni producing a sound and shaking its abdomen.webm, ''Cicada orni'' producing a sound and shaking its abdomen

External links

Fauna Europaea

Biolib

Sound recordings of ''Cicada orni'' at BioAcoustica
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2471275 Cicadini Hemiptera of Africa Hemiptera of Europe Insects of the Middle East Insects described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus