Songs, genetics, and morphology: revealing the taxonomic units in the European Cicadetta cerdaniensis cicada group, with a description of new taxa (Hemiptera: Cicadidae)
Author
Hertach, Thomas
Author
Trilar, Tomi
Author
Wade, Elizabeth J.
Author
Simon, Chris
Author
Nagel, Peter
text
Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society
2015
Zool. J. Linn. Soc.
2015-01-29
173
2
320
351
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/zoj.12212
journal article
10.1111/zoj.12212
0024-4082
5334868
4909845B-F89E-4F06-9E6D-02DADBE44AD9
CICADETTA ANAPAISTICA LUCANA
HERTACH
SSP. NOV.
Type material
The type series consists of
16 males
and
two females
, representing southern, central, and northern populations. It is kept in the
NHMB
(
holotype
),
ETHZ
,
NMBE
and in one private collection.
Holotype
male
Verbatim label information: ‘nördl.
Mezzana Torre
, BASI, I/
40.0054°
/
16.1681°
,
1030 m
asl
/
18.7.2013
, leg.
T. Hertach
/ Collection Code No. 19.012’ (label rectangular, white, printed) and ‘HOLOTYPUS ♂/
Cicadetta anapaistica lucana
ssp. nov.
/
Hertach
2014’ (label rectangular, light red with dark-red margin, printed) (
NHMB
).
Paratypes
All
paratypes
with labels ‘
PARATYPUS
XX Y,
Cicadetta anapaistica lucana
ssp. nov.
Hertach 2014’ (label rectangular, white with red margin, printed), at which ‘XX’ is the number of the
paratype
and ‘Y’ is the sex of the specimen. Number ‘12’ does not exist.
Paratype
males, dark morph:
Timpa Falascoso, Viggianello, BASI, I, 40.0184°/16.1107°,
950 m
asl,
7.7.2010
, leg. T. Hertach (
paratype
2, coll. Hertach)
;
Serra Alberigo, Viggianello, BASI, I, 40.0014°/16.1171°,
1020 m
asl,
7.7.2010
, leg. T. Hertach (
paratype
4, coll. Hertach)
;
Timpone Rotondella, Morano Calabro, CALA, I, 39.8606°/16.0953°,
980 m
asl,
17.7.2013
, leg. T. Hertach (
paratype
6, coll. Hertach)
;
Serra Alberigo, Viggianello, BASI, I, 40.0012°/16.1170°,
1040 m
asl,
17.7.2013
, leg. T. Hertach (
paratype
7, coll. Hertach)
;
Serra Alberigo, Viggianello, BASI, I, 39.9980°/16.1218°,
1070 m
asl,
17.7.2013
, leg. T. Hertach (
paratypes
8, 9 and 10, coll. Hertach)
;
N
Mezzana Torre
, BASI, I,
40.0054°
/
16.1681°
,
1030 m
asl,
18.7.2013
, leg.
T. Hertach
(
paratype
13, coll.
NMBE
)
;
N Marsico Nuovo, BASI, I, 40.4659°/15.7380°,
1130 m
asl,
20.7.2013
, leg. T. Hertach (
paratypes
14 and 15, coll. Hertach)
;
N Morra de Sanctis, CAMP, I, 40.9365°/15.2410°,
820 m
asl,
22.7.2013
, leg. T. Hertach (
paratype
17, coll.
ETHZ
).
Paratype
males, light morph:
Timpa Falascoso, Viggianello, BASI, I, 40.0184°/16.1107°,
950 m
asl,
7.7.2010
, leg. T. Hertach (
paratype
1, coll. Hertach)
;
Serra Alberigo, Viggianello, BASI, I, 40.0014°/16.1171°,
1020 m
asl,
7.7.2010
, leg. T. Hertach (
paratype
3, coll.
ETHZ
)
;
W
Acerno
,
Monti Picentini
, CAMP, I,
40.7545°
/
15.0406°
,
600 m
asl,
14.7.2010
, leg.
T. Hertach
(
paratype
5, coll.
NMBE
)
;
N Morra de Sanctis, CAMP, I, 40.9365°/15.2410°,
820 m
asl,
22.7.2013
, leg. T. Hertach (
paratype
18, coll. Hertach, putative hybrid with
C. sibillae
sp. nov.
).
Paratype
females:
Serra Alberigo, Viggianello, BASI, I, 39.9980°/16.1218°,
1070 m
asl
,
17.7.2013
, leg.
T. Hertach
(
paratype
11, coll.
ETHZ
)
;
N Marsico Nuovo, BASI, I, 40.4659°/15.7380°,
1130 m
asl,
20.7.2013
, leg. T. Hertach (
paratype
16, coll.
Hertach
)
.
MORPHOLOGY
Diagnosis
Cicadetta anapaistica lucana
ssp. nov.
occurs in two differently coloured morphs present in the same local populations. The dark-coloured morph resembles all other described
C. montana
complex species. The vast majority of
C. a. lucana
ssp. nov.
specimens, like
C. a.
anapaistica
, are separated from
C. cerdaniensis
s.str.
by the predominantly dark basal junction of the anal veins (100% for
C. a. lucana
ssp. nov.
dark morph and
C. a.
anapaistica
, 94.4% for
C. a. lucana
ssp. nov.
versus 5.0% for
C. cerdaniensis
s.str.
). From
C. montana
s.str.
, many specimens are distinguished by the outer rim of costa darker than the inner rim and the radial/subcostal veins (77.8 versus 9.5%, chisquare contingency test, χ
2
= 27.9,
P
<0.001 for
C. a. lucana
ssp. nov.
and 89.5% versus 9.5%, χ
2
= 51.1,
Figure 8.
Echemes of phrase 3 in
Cicadetta cerdaniensis
s.str.
(△) and
Cicadetta sibillae
sp. nov.
(◆). A, duration of echemes as a function of perch temperature, with linear regression trend lines and standard errors (grey areas). B, box plot of the number of syllables per echeme given as mean values of 20 echemes for each individual. C–F, oscillograms (time versus amplitude) close to the linear regression trend lines of (A): C,
C. sibillae
sp. nov.
at 23 °C perch temperature (with measured duration terms, Northern Apenninian metapopulation); D,
C. sibillae
sp. nov.
at 28 °C (Western Alpine metapopulation); E,
C. cerdaniensis
s.str.
at 23 °C (Eastern Pyrenees); F,
C. cerdaniensis
s.str.
at 28 °C (Eastern Pyrenees).
Table 4.
Spatial variation of selected song variables in
Cicadetta sibillae
sp. nov.
as functions of the geographical latitude with linear regressions (23–28 °C)
Variable |
Slope |
R2 |
ED1+2 |
−0.457 |
0.527 |
IED1+2 |
−0.286 |
0.207 |
ED3 |
0.028 |
0.002 |
IED3 |
0.122 |
0.038 |
FPF2 (centre) |
0.207 |
0.108 |
Syllables/E3 |
−0.055 |
0.007 |
Note: song variables were normalized and standardized for better comparability. Example: ED
1+2
values clearly decrease with increasing latitude and form a well-correlated cline, whereas ED
3
values are independent of latitude and are very constant between locations and metapopulations.
P
<0.001 for
C. anapaistica
).
Cicadetta anapaistica lucana
ssp. nov.
have on average a stockier habitus in comparison with
C. sibillae
sp. nov.
, with significantly broader wings (
Fig. 5C
, Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney rank sum test,
W
= 270,
P
= 0.009) and broader abdomen (
Fig. 5D
, Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney rank sum test,
W
= 299,
P
= 0.002). Additionally, in
C. anapaistica
the pronotal collar is frontally often broader in relation to the head than in
C. sibillae
sp. nov.
, caused by a more distinct convexity (
Fig. 5B
, Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney rank sum test,
W
= 586.5,
P
<0.001, for
C. anapaistica
versus
C. sibillae
sp. nov.
, and
W
= 279.5,
P
= 0.010, for
C. a. lucana
ssp. nov.
versus
C. sibillae
sp. nov.
). The lightcoloured morph is probably separated from any other described species. Closest to
C. fangoana
, an endemic species of
Corsica
, it seems to be distinguishable by the more yellowish or ochre than reddish markings on the thorax, and by the ochre coloration of the central suture and the frontal margin of the pronotum.
Description
Two colour morphs exist, with 78% dark (including
holotype
and females) and 22% light. Dark morphs were captured in four local populations and light ones were captured in three populations.
Measurements
Body length:
18.3 mm
in
holotype
specimen; 17.7 ±
0.7 mm
(mean ± SD) in male dark morph
paratypes
; 17.7 ± 1.0 mm in male light morph
paratypes
; 20.2 and 19.0 mm in female
paratypes
, respectively. Body width (abdomen, tergite 2):
6.5 mm
in
holotype
specimen; 5.9 ±
0.2 mm
in male dark morph
paratypes
; 5.8 ±
0.3 mm
in male light morph
paratypes
; 6.1 and
6.2 mm
in female
paratypes
. Forewing length:
19.9 mm
in
holotype
specimen; 20.0 ±
0.8 mm
in male dark morph
paratypes
; 19.4 ±
0.4 mm
in male light morph
paratypes
; 22.5 and
20.3 mm
in female
paratypes
. Forewing width:
8.7 mm
in
holotype
specimen, 8.2 ±
0.4 mm
in male dark morph
paratypes
, 8.0 ±
0.3 mm
in male light morph
paratypes
, 9.5 and
8.8 mm
in female
paratypes
.
Male
holotype
(
Fig. 4B
)
The
holotype
specimen of
C. a. lucana
ssp. nov.
fits the detailed description of the
holotype
of
C. a.
anapaistica
(
Hertach, 2011
)
, with the following differences. On the head, mentum dark brown (as in some
paratypes
of
C. a.
anapaistica
). On the thorax, narrow brownish band at posterior margin (as in some
paratypes
of
C. a.
anapaistica
) and lateral depressions of cruciform elevation posterior with an ochre spot, meracanthus directed caudally not laterally (as in some recently captured specimens of
C. a.
anapaistica
). On the abdomen, sternites and caudal margins of tergites red brown (as in some
paratypes
of
C. a.
anapaistica
). On forewings, basal median vein ochre up to the crossveins and the node (as in some
paratypes
of
C. a.
anapaistica
). Basal junction of anal veins dark or black, as in
C. a.
anapaistica
, but not reported there. In the genitalia, basal lobe of pygofer brown.
Male
paratypes
of dark morph
Dark male
paratypes
differ from the
holotype
of
C. a. lucana
ssp. nov.
and/or
C. a.
anapaistica
(with
holotype
and
paratypes
), as follows. On the head, postclypeus rarely almost completely black. On the thorax, lateral depressions of cruciform elevation posterior normally without an ochre spot, as in
C. a.
anapaistica
, meracanthus variable in shape and size. Rarely, lateral margin of pronotal collar frontal to the angles scarcely convex in shape and not clearly recessed (compare
Fig. 5B
). On forewing, colour combinations of costal and radial/subcostal veins differ sporadically, especially the exterior rim of costa and radius/ subcosta of same colour. Rarely, cubitus anterior vein and cubitus posterior vein/first anal vein almost black. Pterostigma sometimes brownish. Median and cubitus anterior vein fused on both sides for approximately
1 mm
in
two paratypes
. Distal veins rarely with seven or nine apical cells instead of eight. In genitalia, upper lobes of pygofer rarely more angled.
Male
paratypes
of light morph (
Fig. 4B, G
)
Contrary to the dark morph several parts of the body are ochre or yellowish in colour, instead of black. On the head, postclypeus towards the frontoclypeal suture and the anteclypeus, as well as sometimes the surrounding of the compound eyes, ochre. On the pronotum, central suture, frontal margin, and pronotal collar appearing as broad ochre bands. On the mesonotum, two triangular, ochre markings central to the lateral sigilla (in
one paratype
mesonotum completely ochre except for the submedian and lateral sigillae, and the scutal depressions). Cruciform elevation and its lateral depressions predominantly ochre. Ventral side of thorax generally lighter (in
one paratype
almost completely yellowish, including opercula). On the abdomen, variable ochre fasciae at the tergites in addition to the red brown margins. Legs with light portions more dominant. One
paratype
with basal junction of anal veins ochre instead of dark at forewing.
Figure 9.
Distribution map of the species of the
Cicadetta cerdaniensis
song group (15 × 15-km
2
grid cells). Notes: cells recently checked in the framework of the Swiss and Italian projects of the first author without detection of a taxon of this group are brownish. The
Cicadetta cantilatrix
distribution range is not completely visible. Published records of
Cicadetta cantilatrix
by
Sueur & Puissant (2007)
,
Trilar & Holzinger (2004)
,
Hertach (2007)
,
Brua & Hugel (2008)
,
Trilar & Gogala (2012)
, and
Hertach & Nagel (2013)
.
Female
paratypes
(
Fig. 4B
)
Coloration does not differ from the dark morph described above, and is consequently slightly darker than the females of
C. a.
anapaistica
. Ratio of body length to ovipositor length (including sheath) 3.1 and 2.9.
ACOUSTIC BEHAVIOUR
Diagnosis
The calling song of
C. a. lucana
ssp. nov.
is intermediate to the songs of
C. cerdaniensis
s.str.
and
C. sibillae
sp. nov.
, on the one hand, and
C. a.
anapaistica
on the other hand. It is distinguished by the characteristicly grouped short echemes in the third phrase (
Fig. 6D
).
Cicadetta sibillae
sp. nov.
and
C. cerdaniensis
s.str.
emit evenly distributed (ungrouped) single echemes with no exceptions. The calling song of
C. a.
anapaistica
also contains grouped echemes, but normally with a longer faint echeme at the end (
Fig. 6E
).
Composition of calling song
Similar to
C. sibillae
sp. nov.
, recordings of
C. a. lucana
ssp. nov.
were analysed in detail for a perch temperature range from 23 to 28 °C (eight individuals,
T
mean
= 24.1 °C), and for some song variables in a broader range (another 43 individuals). They were compared in detail with the data set presented for
C. sibillae
sp. nov.
and
C. cerdaniensis
s.str.
, as well as with ten older recordings of
C. a.
anapaistica
(that probably match the same temperature range; Appendix S1) and another 46 recordings in some variables (most of which included perch temperature measurements).
Figure 10.
Habitats of
Cicadetta sibillae
sp. nov.
in Tiglieto (Liguria, A) and at the Monte San Giorgio (Ticino, B), and most important location of
Cicadetta anapaistica lucana
ssp. nov.
in the mountainous Pollino National Park (C). Threatened core population habitat of
Cicadetta anapaistica anapaistica
in the Madonie Mountains as a result of overgrazing and soil erosion (D).
A phrase 1 pattern as in
C. cerdaniensis
s.str.
(
Puissant & Boulard, 2000
) was never recorded, and similar to
C. a.
anapaistica
(
Hertach, 2011
)
, seems not to be prominent. Phrase 2 (
PH
2
) consists of a longer series of echemes composed of a low intensity part (FP
2
) and a completely connected loud short part (SP
2
), which is comparable with the main slow phrases in
C. cantilatrix
,
C. cerdaniensis
s.str.
,
C. a.
anapaistica
, and
C. sibillae
sp. nov.
Phrase 3 (
PH
3
) is intermedi- ate to
C. sibillae
sp. nov.
/
C. cerdaniensis
s.str.
and
C. a.
anapaistica
.
It consists of fast repetitions of grouped short echemes. The echemes are grouped normally in pairs of two (E
3_1
and E
3_2
) in
C. a. lucana
ssp. nov.
(pattern ‘luca_norm’;
Figs 6D
,
11
). Phrase 2 and phrase 3 are alternating, often for several minutes. The song never starts or ends with phrase 3.
Measurements of the calling song characters in
C. a. lucana
ssp. nov.
within the 23–28 °C temperature range are reported in
Table 2
. Phrase 2 echemes are longer on average in this subspecies than in
C. sibillae
sp. nov.
and
C. a.
anapaistica
.
ED
2
and IED
2
are positively correlated in some individuals, but not in others. G
3
is slightly longer than in
C. a.
anapaistica
, although the group does not contain a longer final echeme. Differences in the number of syllables forming the short echemes of phrase 3 are marginal between the two subspecies: 6.42 ± 1.10 (E
3_1
) and 5.14 ± 0.74 (E
3_2
) syllables in
C. a. lucana
ssp. nov.
(mean values from 31 individuals) versus 6.05 ± 1.28 (E
3_1
) and 5.35 ± 0.79 (E
3_2
) in
C. a.
anapaistica
(mean values of 36 individuals). The dependency on the perch temperature is less obvious in both subspecies of
C. anapaistica
than in
C. sibillae
sp. nov.
Interestingly, this effect seems mainly to be caused by the ability of
C. a. lucana
ssp. nov.
and especially
C. a.
anapaistica
to move the timbals faster than
C. sibillae
sp. nov.
, mainly at low temperatures [
Fig. 12A
, ANCOVA, slightly significant model with interaction for
C. a. lucana
ssp. nov.
and
C. sibillae
sp. nov.
,
F
species
(1, 81) = 16.1,
P
species
<0.001,
F
temp × species
(1, 81) = 5.1,
P
temp × species
= 0.026, model without interaction for
C. a.
anapaistica
and
C. sibillae
sp. nov.
,
F
species
(1, 76) = 35.3,
P
species
<0.001]. Syllable rates are approximately 15–20% faster at a perch temperature of 20 °C, and form a geographical disruption between the two species (
Fig. 12B
).
Figure 11.
Relative portions from the northern simpler to the southern more complex song patterns in phrase 3, including the southern Italian contact zones from
Cicadetta sibillae
sp. nov.
to
Cicadetta anapaistica lucana
ssp. nov.
, and from
Cicadetta anapaistica lucana
ssp. nov.
to
Cicadetta anapaistica anapaistica
. The size of the circles is in proportion to the phrases counted (
n
max
= 111,
n
min
= 5), with a maximum of ten per specimen. Sibi_norm (
C. sibillae
sp. nov.
, no variability), 100% single (ungrouped) echemes; luca_simp (simplified
C. a. lucana
ssp. nov.
),>50% single (ungrouped) echemes, <50% grouped double short echemes; luca_norm (normal
C. a. lucana
ssp. nov.
),>50% grouped double short echemes; luca_comp (complicated
C. a. lucana
ssp. nov.
), more than two short echemes per group occurring; anap_simp (simplified
C. a.
anapaistica
), <50% of groups with final longer faint echemes; anap_norm (normal
C. a.
anapaistica
),>50% of groups with final longer faint echemes and double short echemes; anap_comp (complicated
C. a.
anapaistica
),>50% of groups with more than two short echemes and final longer faint echemes. Note: all populations north of the illustrations have the typical
C. sibillae
sp. nov.
pattern, without exception (orange).
Echeme power (EP) is clearly reduced from phrase 2 (SP
2
) to phrase 3 (E
3
) in both subspecies [2.3 ± 1.5 dB for
C. a. lucana
ssp. nov.
(mean values of 27 individuals) and 3.6 ± 1.6 dB for
C. a.
anapaistica
(mean values of 40 individuals, see also
Hertach, 2011
)]. This power reduction is significantly higher even for
C. a. lucana
ssp. nov.
compared with
C. sibillae
sp. nov.
(Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney rank sum test,
W
= 735,
P
= 0.006). The frequency domain (EF) is broad and not a suitable delimitation criteria for the taxa investigated here (
Table 2
).
Figure 12.
Duration of syllables measured at short echemes of phrase 3 in
Cicadetta sibillae
sp. nov.
(◆, continuous line),
Cicadetta anapaistica lucana
ssp. nov.
(□, dotted line), and
Cicadetta anapaistica anapaistica
(○, broken line): A, dependency on temperature, with linear regression trend lines and standard errors (grey areas); B, visualization of the disruption between the two species along the geographical latitude after controlling for temperature (residuals from the global temperature/time trend line).
The song of
C. a. lucana
ssp. nov.
is variable in qualitative aspects. Two aberrations must be classified. ‘Luca_comp’ is a more complicated pattern, with three or even four short echemes instead of a pair in phrase 3, produced by a minority of individuals in almost all local populations (
Fig. 11
). ‘Luca_simp’ tends to the other direction. In addition to some double echemes a majority of single, ungrouped echemes are emitted. One individual in the Morra de Santis population (
Campania
) at the northern edge of the distribution area even sang ‘
sibillae
’-typical ungrouped echemes for several sequences and one ‘luca_simp’ sequence. Simplified song structures are also known for
C. a.
anapaistica
(
Hertach, 2011
)
, and become more and more equal to the
C. a. lucana
ssp. nov.
pattern (‘anap_simp’, ‘luca_comp’, and ‘luca_norm’). They are found in all
C. a.
anapaistica
populations. The percentage of individuals simplifying the structure increases by trend from central
Sicily
to northern
Calabria
; however, the transition of local populations capable of emitting the final longer faint echeme is abrupt, and correlated with topography. The gradient is consequently not a typical cline over the whole species range. Populations capable of producing a longer faint echeme in phrase 3 must be assigned to
C. a.
anapaistica
, whereas populations capable of producing solely grouped short echemes are belonging to the new subspecies
C. a. lucana
ssp. nov.
ETYMOLOGY
The majority of all observations of
C. a. lucana
ssp. nov.
were made in the historical region ‘Lucania’, which is still vernacular in use and is mainly congruent with the current political region ‘Basilicata’. The specific epithet ‘lucana’ is the corresponding adjective in female declination and gives the name to this subspecies.
DISTRIBUTION AND ECOLOGY
Cicadetta anapaistica lucana
ssp. nov.
is a subspecies endemic to a southern Italian region of approximately
150 km
in length and, at most,
100 km
wide (
Fig. 9
). Local populations reach the southern part of Pollino National Park in the south, the Picentini and Cilento mountains in the west, the Ofanto River drainage basin in the north, and the Difesa Grande Forest near Gravina in
Puglia
in the east. The distribution is mainly situated in the
Basilicata region
, but also touches
Calabria
,
Apulia
, and
Campania
. Pollino National Park (San Severino Lucano/Viggianello) contained the most important local population by far (
Fig. 10C
). Additional significant populations were found at Monte Cupolicchio east of Potenza, at Monte Sirino, at Monticchio Lakes, at Morra de Sanctis, and at Acerno in the Picentini Mountains.
The altitudinal range goes from
250 m
asl (Bosco di Monte Orsino, Potenza) to
1960 m
asl (Serra di Crispo, Pollino), with a peak of abundance between 800 and
1100 m
asl. The maximum altitude observed was exceptionally high for European cicadas. This subspecies was never found near the coast and we only detected very few individuals below
550 m
asl. Favourite habitats are mesophilous, extensively used pastures with various bushes, and forest edges or sparse woods [oak (
Quercus
spp.
) or beech (
Fagus sylvatica
)], with a well-developed understory. In the first habitat
type
, the new subspecies was regularly observed singing in the herb layer, whereas in the second habitat
type
it can sing high up in the canopy. Many habitats are fragmented by deforestation, especially in the lower north-eastern parts. Some populations at higher altitudes are threatened by overgrazing, for example in Cilento National Park.
SONG- BASED KEY FOR THE DETERMINATION OF TAXA BELONGING TO THE
CICADETTA CERDANIENSIS
GROUP
(SEE
FIGS 6
,
11
)
1. Main song element composed by the repetition of echemes with a longer low-intensity part and a completely connected loud short part, all echeme
types
shorter than
1.5 s
.............................
Cicadetta cerdaniensis
group 2
No echemes existing with a low- and connected high-intensity part or echeme duration longer than
1.5 s
.......... ........................................................................... cicada not belonging to the
Cicadetta cerdaniensis
group
2. No fast phrase existing in calling song (but in rarely emitted courtship song)....................
Cicadetta cantilatrix
Phrase with fast repetitions of echemes existing in calling song ................................................................ 3
3. Fast-repetition phrase composed by evenly distributed (ungrouped) single echemes.......................................4 Fast-repetition phrase characterized by echeme groups............................................................................ 5
4. Central part of fast-repetition phrase composed by echemes with fewer than 6.0 syllables (Pyrenees)................ ...................................................................................................................
Cicadetta cerdaniensis
s.str.
Central part of fast-repetition phrase composed by echemes with more than 6.5 syllables (Apennine and Southern Alps)...........................................................................................................
Cicadetta sibillae
sp. nov.
5. Fast-repetition phrase characterized by echeme groups of solely short echemes (valid at local population level only) .............................................................................................
Cicadetta anapaistica lucana
ssp. nov.
Fast-repetition phrase characterized by echeme groups finished by a longer faint echeme (valid at local population level only) ............................................................................................
Cicadetta anapaistica anapaistica
At lower altitudes,
C. a. lucana
ssp. nov.
occurs syntopically with up to six different species, but not with any other
Cicadetta
species.
At higher altitudes, it is often the single representative of the
Cicadidae
family. Within the
C. montana
complex only
C. montana
s.str.
shares the distribution area. This new subspecies was observed in full activity during the first half of July.
Cicadetta anapaistica anapaistica
is not restricted to
Sicily
, as previously stated (
Hertach, 2011
). Small and isolated local populations were recently found in the Aspromonte Mountains, in the Calabrian Serre, and in the Sila Mountains (
Fig. 9
). They inhabit a narrow ecological niche of more mesophilous habitats than visited before 2013. Additional populations were also found in
Sicily
, such as in the eastern part of the Nebrodi Mountains and in the Peloritani Mountains. The distribution is significantly larger than expected.