Bioacoustics of Carineta diardi

Flying song A series of short echemmes resembling ‘snaps’ produced while males are flying. A total of 12 ± 3 (8–19) echemmes are emitted. The peak frequency is 9.6 ± 0.2 (9.0–10.1) kHz, with echemmes lasting 0.139 ± 0.021 ( 0.108 –0.209 ) seconds. Calling song: composed of short echemmes which gradually increase in intensity (dB), lasting 0.06 ± 0.01 ( 0.003 –0.143 ), with a peak frequency of 8.9 ± 1.2 (5.6–9.9) kHz. Stress call Composed of longer echemmes with a greater number of notes, lasting approximately 0.187 ± 0.09 seconds, with 47.5 ± 13.8 syllables per echemme. Unlike other species repertoire sounds, this signal presents a broad-range frequency with three peaks of higher intensity, each with a distinct frequency. F1 presents 5.27 ± 0.24 kHz, F2 presents 6.52 ± 0.21 kHz, while F3 presents 8.41 ± 0.35 kHz.

This species has a repertoire composed by flying song ( N = 8) and calling song ( N = 8) ( Fig. 5 ). The acoustic activity of the species occurs between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. The flying song ( Fig. 5A ) is composed of a train of clicks, which are emitted throughout the time the male keeps flying. These clicks, or echemes, are emitted at values of 12 ± 3 (8–19) while the individual remains suspended in the air. The calling song ( Fig. 5B ) was emitted when the males were perched, usually on leaves. The signal has a smaller duration of 0.06 ± 0.01 s ( 0.003 – 0.143 s ) ( Table 2 ). Significant differences were detected between flying and calling songs in the peak frequency (Mann–Whitney test, U = 1496, P <.05) and echeme duration (Mann–Whitney test, U = 115, P <.05).

The colourful-cicada is a fully canopy species. This cicada emits signals and copulates at heights> 2 m ( Fig. 1 ), with the field temperature ranging between 16°C and 21°C, although it sometimes performs low flights up to 2 m of the ground. Males were observed singing the calling song on the trees of various native and non-native plant families, such as Anacardiaceae , Moraceae , Pinaceae , and Sapindaceae . A pair formation was seen when a male landed on a leaf of Hovenia dulcis (a nonnative tree of Rhamnaceae ) where a female was standing. No acoustic signal was heard and while the female remained fixed on the lower side of the leaf, the male attached his genitalia in a typical end-to-end position and then retracted his legs ( Fig. 1C ), remaining immobile until the female took flight. This was the only observed copulation at the study site and it lasted 5 min.