Diceroprocta biconica (Walker)

Sanborn, Allen F., Phillips, Polly K. & Gilllis, Philip, 2008, The Cicadas of Florida (Hemiptera: Cicadoidea: Cicadidae), Zootaxa 1916, pp. 1-43 : 5-6

Diceroprocta biconica (Walker) (Figs. 1–10)

Cicada biconica Walker 1850: 120 . Type locality: Cuba. Holotype female is in the Natural History Museum, London.

Adults first emerge in early June and can be heard singing until late August or early September. The most common collection dates are in early and mid-August. It is the largest of the Florida Diceroprocta species. No analysis of the song has been published but it is a constant, harsh, metallic buzz that can go on for several minutes (personal observation). The song is shortened to chirps when males near females. The call is produced intermittently but all males begin to call once a single individual initiates acoustic activity.

Diceroprocta biconica has one of the most limited distributions of all the Florida Cicadidae (Fig. 10). The current distribution is restricted to the Florida Keys (Monroe Co.), although specimens from Dade, Palm Beach, and Orange counties have been studied. However, the Orange and Palm Beach County records are considered mislabeled specimens because the mangrove habitat characteristic for the species (Sanborn et al. 2004) is not found in these locations. The records from Dade County appear to be valid historical records, but continued development of the shoreline has eliminated the preferred habitat of the species within Dade County.

The species is therefore restricted to the Southern Florida Coastal Plain ecoregion, specifically the habitats of the Southern Coasts and Islands ecoregion ( Griffith et al. 1994). It has been associated specifically with black mangrove trees ( Avicennia germinans (L.)) in their natural foreshore and high tidal zone environments but is also commonly found calling in ornamental and exotic trees in regions of the Florida Keys altered by human disturbance (Sanborn et al. 2004).