''Thopha sessiliba'', commonly known as the northern double drummer, is an Australian

cicada The cicadas () are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two ...

native to

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

and northern

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. Adults perch almost exclusively on

ghost gum Ghost gum may refer to a number of Australia, Australian evergreen tree speciesAustralian National Botanic Gardens http://www.anbg.gov.au/cpbr/cd-keys/euclid3/euclidsample/html/index_commonname.htm#G including: * ''Corymbia aparrerinja'', a central ...

William Lucas Distant William Lucas Distant (12 November 1845 Rotherhithe – 4 February 1922 Wanstead) was an English entomologist. Biography Early years Distant was born in Rotherhithe, the son of whaling captain Alexander Distantspecies:B.R. Subba Rao, Rao, B.R ...

described the northern double drummer in 1892, but incorrectly gave the type locality as Sydney.

Description

The northern double drummer is a large species of cicada, the second largest in Australia, just smaller than the largest species, the double drummer. The male and female average 4.56 cm long. The thorax is 1.85 cm in diameter. The eyes are light brown tinged with purple, and the postclypeus dark red-brown. The head is variable in colour, but never black like the double drummer. The thorax is brown with lighter golden-brown markings. The

mesonotum The mesothorax is the middle of the three segments of the thorax of hexapods, and bears the second pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the mesonotum (dorsal), the mesosternum (ventral), and the mesopleuron (lateral) on ...

is brown tinged with purple. The underside of the thorax is red-brown and covered in fine silvery velvety hairs. The abdomen is dark brown, with the first and second segments above and underside covered with grey hairs, and also a whitish pregenital band of hair. The

wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expresse ...

are vitreous (transparent) with light brown veins. The legs are brown and have fine grey velvety hairs. Adult cicadas emerge from September and can be seen until the end of April, though are most abundant in December and January.

Distribution

The northern double drummer is found from

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

in southeast Queensland north to Cape York and Mount Isa, and across eastern and northern Northern Territory and into northern Western Australia, across

the Kimberley The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy and Tanami deserts in the region of the Pilbara, an ...

and Broome to Mundiwindi. It is found on eucalyptus trees, particularly smooth-barked species such as the ghost gum (''

Corymbia aparrerinja ''Corymbia aparrerinja'', commonly known as ghost gum, is a species of tree that is endemic to Central Australia. It has smooth bark, lance-shaped or curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three or seven, white flowers and cup-shaped to ...

'') in

Central Australia Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Australia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town of Alice Springs and i ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q16759416 Thophini Hemiptera of Australia Insects described in 1892 Taxa named by William Lucas Distant

Description

Distribution

See also

References