nab MONOGHAPH OF ORIENTAL CICADID^ BY W. L. DISTANT FELLOW OF THE ENTOMOLOCilCAL SOCIETIES OF LONDON, BELGIUM, FRANCE, AND STOCKHOLM ; AUTHOR OF 'RHOPALOCERA MALAYANA,' 'A NATURALIST IN THE TRANSVAAL,'. &C.
WITH FIFTEEN PLATES, AND WOODCUTS. ^3ul)Us!jrtf 1)5 ©rUrr of W^t CTrustcrs . ^ V of tfje ^''' Calcutta* Landor despised Entomology, yet, in the same bieatli, said, "the sublime was in a grain of dust."—Euebson, 'Engluh TraiU.' LONDON :—PRINTED BY WEST, NEWM.VN & CO. AND SOLD BY LONDON :— H.S. KING & CO., 66, CORNHILL; and E.W.J ANSON, 85, LITTLE RUSSELL ST., BLOOMSBURY. CALCUTTA :— At the INDIAN MUSEUM ; and THACKER, SPINK & CO. BERLIN:— R. FRIEDLANDER & SOHN. 1889—1892.
c^ %o Wm 4ili;morit of THK LATK E. T. ATKINSON, 13. A., ACCODNTANT-OENERAL IJF BESOAL ; PRESIDENT OF THE BOAHU OF IBDSTEES OF THE INDIAN .MDSECJI, CUiCUTTA; AnXHOR OK JIANY PAPERS ON INDIAN RHYNCIIOTA ; AND (Jiomotcvofthe{3ublic;itionofthisjHanograpli, I DEDICATK THE SAJIE.
PREFACE.
At the request and by the Hberal enterprise of the Trustees of the Indian Museum — much influenced by my late friend Mr. E. T. Atkinson — I have in the following pages attempted the monographic revision and description of the Oriental species of the Homoptercus Family Cicadida;.
The limits of the fauna thus studied have already been defined at page 2, and over this large area our knowledge of such a little-collected family as the Cicadidae must necessarily be fragmentary and of a very unequal character. Nevertheless I have been able to study a very great deal of the material which already exists. The fine collection of these insects belonging to the Indian Museum at Calcutta has passed through my hands, and I have examined all the specimens in the collection of the late Mr. E. T. Atkinson. I have also had submitted to me for identification the whole of the Oriental species in the Brussels Museum ; * the Celebesian specimens collected by Dr. Meyer, and now in the Dresden Museum ; the very fine material in the Genoa Museum, t including the collection made by Fea in Tenasserim and Upper Burma, by Beccari in several islands of the Malayan Archipelago, and by D'Albcrtis in New Guinea ; the rich Cicadan possessions in the Leyden Museum, I including the captures made in Java and Sumatra by Hagen, Van Lansberg, and the Sumatran Expedition, have been placed at my disposal to aid this work; §and I have also had a loan of the private collections of the late Dr. Signoret, Mr. P. Moore, and ^Iv. F. Pascoe. I have naturally had ready access to the British Museum, without which nothing could have been attempted in the unravelling of the types made by the late F. Walker, and our national collection is not only rich in Indian species, but contains nearly all the Cicadan results of Mr. Wallace's memorable visit to the Malayan Archipelago. My own collection includes the captures made by Dr. Leith in Bombay, A. W. Chennell in Assam, G. T. Hampson iu the Neelgiri Kills, myself in the Malay Peninsula, H. 0. Forbes in Java and Sumatra, Carl Bock in Sumatra and Borneo, Baron Von Hiigel in Java, W. Doherty in Assam, Burma, Perak, Borneo, and the eastern islands of the Archipelago, J. Whitehead on the Kina Balu Mt., Capt. Bingham in Burma, Geo. Lewis and II. J. S. Pryer in Japan. W. B. Pryer in North "■'ForwhichIwasimlchtecltoM.rrcuilhuuimedeBorre.
iTluouglithekindnessoftheJIarquisDoriaandDr.Gestro.
JIcannothelprecording,andwithscientificappreciationandgratitude,thefacilitiesIhavebeenaffordedby ContinentalJIuseums,toimprovethisandotherworksIhavebeenengagedon,bytheloanofspecimens,alwayscheerfully andreadilygranted.IcannotgiveContinentalworkerstheassuranceofsimilarassistancefromourNationalInstitution,for by tlio rules of tho liritish Museum, a specimen once deposited there never leaves the portals of its zealously-guarded doors.
§15ythegoodofficesofDr.C.Hitsema.
vi PREFACE.
Borneo, and part of the collection made by A. E. Pratt in China.* I have also been allowed to see most of Stal's Philippine and Indian types in the Stockholm Museum. t Referring to my own unpublished Catalogue, about 82 genera, and 720 J species of Cicadida3 are now known to Science, and of these I have been able to include 34 genera and 268 species in this fauna, a doubtless insufficient number for many parts of the area, especially for China and New Guinea, though we may consider our knowledge of the genera and species found in Continental India as much more satisfactory.
Of the life-histories of these interesting insects we can only glean scattered records. At page 1, reference has been made to most of the published information respecting the structural details of the wonderful sound-producing organs of the males. The volume of sound emitted by these organs has impressed travellers and naturalists in all parts of the world, and we meet with many references to it in zoological literature and in works of travel and adventure. The time of day when the males give forth their shrill and unmelodious sounds probably varies with different species and in different localities. In Nicaragua, Belt " found them loudest towards sunset, keeping up their shrill music until it is taken up by night-vocal crickets and locusts." § In Austraha, " during rain, these insects are silent ; but re-commence their clamour on the re-appearance of fine weather." || In South Brazil, Bigg- Wither, referring to a dominant species, states that he does not remember ever hearing "its shrill whistle excepting during the three months of September, October, and November." •[ In the Transvaal, according to my own experience, Platijpleura divisa has an equally restricted time of appearance and song, commencing in November, after the arrival of the rains. In the North of Italy, Swinton noticed that the males of Cicada plcbcja and Tihiceii Immatodcs " sing on the summit of brushwood at an elevation varying from ten to twelve feet," while Tcttigia orni " will ascend the poplar trunks to a much greater height" for the same purpose.** In Brazil, Mr. Jones describes a species as making a noise equal to the whistle of a locomotive. " Indeed so remarkable is the resemblance that once or twice since I have returned to England I have suddenly been recalled to the tropical groves by the sound of an extra shrill railway whistle at a distance." ft Perhaps the most picturesque description of this sound is given by Prof. McCoy, referring to an Australian species, PsaUoda miereiis. It is described as producing " almost a deafening sound from the numbers of the individuals in the hottest days, and the loudness of their noise ; which beginning with a prolonged high-toned whir like that of a knife-grinder, or the letter E loudly prolonged in a high pitch, continued for a minute or two, breaks into a series of diminuendo 'squawks,' like that of a frightened duck in a farm-yard, loud enough to be heard some hundred yards off, and stunning our ears with the shrilling and squalling. This kept up with ' damnable iteration,' as Falstaff says, by hundreds of individuals all day long, would tax the patience of a saint, if such existed in Australia." 1 1 The Cicadan song is clearly of a sexual nature, the sound-producing organs being only * Presented to me by Mr. J. H. Leech, the promoter of the expedition. f By the favour of Dr. C. Aurivillius. JThisdoesnotinchidethewholeofWalker'sdescriptions,andleavesafewyetundeterminedtobeofsynonymicor specific value.
The tabulation, however, may be taken as approximately correct.
§ 'The Naturalist in Nicaragua,' p. 312. |] Bennett, 'Wanderings in New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 237. If ' Pioneering in South Brazil,' vol. i. p. 297. ** ' Insect Variety,' p. 222. It'Yorkshii-eNatm-alist'(2),ix.pp.129-30(1884).J|'ProdromusZoology—Victoria,'v.pp.53,5i(Dec,1880J.
PREFACE. vu developed in the male sex. A recent writer has affirmed that the song of the Cicada is appreciated by other orders of insects. According to this observer — whose name is not mentioned by the narrator — in Natal, when a species is singing its loudest, it is often surrounded by numbers of a lace-wing fly" (Xothochrifsa gigantca).* The song is suspended when the insect is alarmed, as in the Transvaal, where, when a tree has ahuost vibrated with the screeching noise, I have produced complete silence by standing amidst its branches. We know nothing of the mental concepts of these beautiful insects. The writer is not a Cartesian, and does not estimate even the Cicadidae as living automata. The " life-liistories" of insects may include their embryological stages, with an exhaustive knowledge of their structure, their classification in zoological sequence, their geographical distribution, the protective or mimetic resemblances by which they often survive the terrors of a struggle for existence, their duration and habits of life, their food and times of appearance, and yet, little as this knowledge can be said to exist regarding many insects, the veil is no more lifted which hides their — probably limited — thoughts and feelings, than those of the inhabitants of a Kafir kraal are known to the vulture soaring above tliem. The psychology of insects is practically imdreamed in the philosophy of entomologists. If, as has been truly remarked, with ears sufficiently attuned and capable, we might hear the roar of the atoms which environ us, how much more might we long to have a sympathetic insight into the ideas, fears, and concepts of the living mass of creatures of which w^e form so small a part.f I have recently hazarded the opinion, though upon very limited observation, that at least a species of African I'latijplcura may pair for life in the mature development. \ If reason and intelligence are, and must be, allowed to ants, termites, bees, and even wasps and spiders, surely it is only our ignorance that prevents the recognition of some form of the saine qualities in the Cicadidae. Although Entomology has made such strides, and so many thousands of insects are now fully described, catalogued, and often figured, yet to their inner lives we are " strangers yet." The Cicadidae appear to be one of the most non-protected family of insects, and are the victims of most predacious creatures. The instances that can be quoted probably only give an idea of the way their members are thinned by numerous enemies, while the list of those enemies is at present very incompletely known. § They probably largely fall a prey to birds. In Nicaragua, Belt has described how during April, when the Cicadas are particularly plentiful, * ' Nature Notes,' August, 1891.
fDr.Mivarthaslatelyre-affirmedhisbeliefthatthepsychicalpowersofbrutesarelimitedtosenseperception,and givenoevidenceofthepossessionofthehigherfacultiesofideationandconception('EssaysandCriticisms');buttheproof isabsent,andthoughreasonablethestatementdoesnotcarrymoreconvictionthansometheologicalpropositions.Onthe otherhand.CountGobletd'Alviellatrulyremarks,whendiscussingthequestionof'ReligioninAnimals':—"Acenturyago suchaquestionwouldonlyhaveprovokedasmile;butnowthatwehaveaccustomedourselvestosearchintheloweststrata of animal life for the antecedents of physiological and intellectual characteristics which only receive their full expression in the best-endowed representatives of human culture, it is no longer possible to dismiss the question of the religion of animals in this summarystyle.Animalssharethephilosophicfateofsavages.Theyarealternatelyexaltedandhumbled,accordingtothe exigenciesoftliecurrenttheoryastothepositionofmaninnature"(HibbertLectures,1S91,p.-li)).Westermarck,inhis greatwork,'TheHistoryofHumanMarriage,'goesbacktotheprecursorsofmaninhisstudyoftheoriginofthatin^ititution, andacourseheforciblyaffirms(p.9)is"theonlyonewhichcanleadtothetrutli,butapathwhichisopentohimalonewho regardsorganicnatureasonecontinuedchain,thelastandmostperfectlinkofwhichisman." J'NaturalistintheTransvaal,'p.07. §AfewofthefollowingnotesIpubhshedinmydescriptionoftheCentral.AmericanCicadid*ini!ie•Biologia Centrali Americana.'
viii PREFACE.
" individuals are often seen whose bulky bodies have been bitten off from the thorax )jy some bird ; and the large and graceful Swallow-tailed Kite at that time feeds on nothing else. I have seen these Kites sweeping round in circles over the tree-tops, and every now and then catching insects off the leaves, so that on shooting them I have found their crops filled with CicadidfB."* In New Zealand, Melampaalta cingulata is destroyed in enormous quantities by the " ordinary house sparrow," and Mr. Hudson, who records the fact, also remarks that he docs not think the species can, from this cause, " long remain abundant in the neighbourhood of our larger towns." t The same thing has occurred in North America, where Tihiccn .scptfiiidccim was also attacked by Passer domcsticus, "and so ravenously and persistently does this bird pursue its food, that the ground is strewn by the wings of the unfortunate Cicada wherever these have been at all numerous." I They are not spared by other insects. The eggs of an European species are stated by Eeaumur to be attacked by the larva; of an ichneumon. § In South-East Africa the perfect insects are devoured by Mantidaj. Mrs. Monteiro found "a large green Mantis holding an unfortunate Cicada, from which it had already bitten one eye, and part of the head ; the poor thing — a male . . . . — making its loud stridulating noise all the time." || In the Transvaal, as I have elsewhere recorded, 1 foimd a species of Platijpleura (P. divisa) was captured and eaten by spiders. " On once hearing a particularly loud chorus from a peach-tree, I visited the same to capture specimens, and found that spiders had industriously spread their webs between the branches, and remains of the Platupkimc were suspended in a more or less devoured condition." IT In the neighbourhood of Candahar a writer who records a wonderful congregation of Cicadidse, also states, " The only enemies they appeared to have were some large dragon-flies, which pounced upon them and carried off what appeared to be double their own weight."** Hornets swell the list of insect-foes. Herr Schliiter, in Texas, saw a Cicada of "exceptional size" attacked by a hornet, killed, and actually carried away by its much smaller destroyer, ff They are also subject to fungoid growths. Mr. Peck describes a fungus developed on the abdomen of Tihicen septemdccim, which, though not immediately fatal to the insect, manifestly incapacitates it for propagation. I \ The peculiarities in the geographical distribution of the species described in this volume are best understood by a reference to the following systematic list, in which the range of all the species is comparatively scheduled. It will thus be seen that in the extreme west of our region the genus Cicadatra just enters as a Paltearctic representative, whilst in the most eastern portion of our area the genera Prasia and Aerilla are allied to the distinctly Australian genera CiistosoiiKi and CMarocysta. This helps to prove the Cicadan homogeneity of our fauuistic area, which embraces all the known species of the genera Pohjncum, Aixjamiana, Pacua, Graptopsaltria, Toscna, Lcptopsaltvia, Duiuluhia, Pomponia, Psithjristria, Grijptotijinpana, Gaanu, Talabuja, Graptotettix, Huechijs, Scicruptera, Mofianiua, Kamalata, Bustia, Karcnia, Ematliia, CalccKjninus, Teipnosia, Prasia, Bcetitria, and Aerilla. Thus, according to present knowledge, * 'Naturalist in Nicaragua,' p. 230. \ Trans. New Zealand Instit. vol. xxiii. p. 50 (1890). \ Riley, ' Science,' v. p. 5'21 (1885). § Quoted by Westwood, 'Modern Classif. Ins.' vol. ii. p. 425. II ' Delagoa Bay,' p. 188. IT Distant, ' Naturalist in the Transvaal,' p. 67. ** J. A. S. Beng. vol. ix. p. 441 (1840). f f Biiclmer, ' Mind in Animals,' Mrs. Besaut's Translat. p. 297. \l'AnnualEeportontheNewYorkMuseumofNatiu-alHistoryfor1878.'
PREFACE. ix twenty-five out of our thirty-four genera are wholly restricted to the fauna ; whilst we may almost say the same of three other genera, Cosmopsaltria, Gijmnotympana, and Lemheja. In many cases, therefore, this is a generic as well as a faunistic monograph, but it is not likely to possess that exhaustive character with many of the above genera, when the Cicadidti; of the Pacific Islands are better known. Our western limit being on the border of the Pala^arctic region proves a moderately sharp faunistic divisor ; but in the east we artificially closed the Malayan Archipelago at New Guinea, and this is certainly not a line of faunistic cleavage. In the Cicadida% Japan docs not exhibit a Palajarctic facies, but has true Oriental affinities ; of China our knowledge is so limited and so partial that nothing can with confidence be said on the subject.
In preparing a monograph of a group of exotic insects, the writer becomes aware as the more thoroughly he strives to do his work, of the initial character of such undertakings.* Collectors, no doubt, will largely add to the number of species to be included in this fauna, and also show a wider distribution of the species already enumerated. Fresh observations on the habits of these insects must necessarily accumulate with time. The permanence of the classification here adopted and pm'sued is neither claimed nor expected. In fact, it would be taking a very pessimist view of the future progress of Entomology, if our present artificial and arbitrary classificatory systems were anticipated to survive the exigencies of museum arrangement, and our present limited knowledge. Embryological conditions, considered on evolutionary principles, must be the guide in framing our future natural systems, showing the sequence of Families, Genera, and Species; the embryology of the Cicadida) is at present practically unknown. The monographist of to-day can only prepare the material to be dealt with in a future biological era by students trained on wider principles, and living in a philosophical conception of life less narrow than that now so generally popular. It is only about thirty years since the publication of the ' Origin of Species ; ' judging fi-om what has already taken place, what may not be expected at the end of another similar period ? I thus feel that, though I found our knowledge of the Cic adidfe in a somewhat chaotic condition, I only leave it in artifwial order, and may, metaphorically, exclaim, "Order reigns in ^Yarsaw." I will only add — if I may do so without presumption — to those who use this monograph, that he who criticises does well ; he who corrects does better ; and he who adds to our knowledge does better still.
I must again bear witness to the faithful work of my artist, Mr. Horace Ivnight, who has illustrated this publication, as he did my ' Rhopalocera Malayana.' I think the entomological artist does not always receive his proper value. How often he makes possible a bad description !
*Itwasonoofthesayingsofthelatowell-knownBritishzoologist,Fredk.Bond,"thatanatarahstoushttohavo threelives—seventyyearstocollect,seventytostudyhiscollection,andseventytoimparthisknowledgetoothers."— ' Entomologist,' vol.
xxii.
p.
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PuRLEY, Surrey, August, 1893.