Bioacoustics of Guyalna coffea

Notes. Fidicinoides coffea is most similar in general coloration to F. c a c h l a ( Distant 1899 ). However, F. coffea is a smaller species with a body length less than 25 mm while F. c a c h l a has a body length between 31 and 34 mm . Fidicinoides coffea is distributed along the Cordillera Central of Costa Rica with collection sites between 480–1220 m elevation in the Meseta Central and NW Pacific escarpment regions characterized by moist forest habitats (Young 1977, 1981). The known distribution comes from the type material which includes the specimens used in the studies of Young (1977, 1981, 1984). The species has been collected in montane wet (rain) forests during the dry season (March–August) and has been associated with shade trees in coffee plantations ( Young 1981 ). Nymphal exuviae have been associated with legumes, particularly with trees Zygia longifolia (Willd.) , Inga goldmanii Pittier and Inga sp. ( Young 1981 , 1984 ). The populations are variable between sites with estimates ranging from a mean of 100– 420 cicadas per year in specific localities ( Young 1984 ). The calling song of F . coffea (figs. 11–13), based on an analysis of 13 recorded songs, is a series of 8–20 short buzzy but slightly musical phrases with a duration of from 0.5 to 1 s with a peak frequency among the broad band of frequencies produced of 5,756–5,812 Hz. The phrases are repeated at a rate of 1–1.5 phrases/s. A useful mnemonic for the sound of the repeated phrases is zooweet…zooweet…etc. The phrases near the end of a song are sometimes interspersed with a rougher sounding buzz of up to 9 much shorter pulses produced much more rapidly, seeming to run together the zooweet phrases. The disturbance squawk is a series of buzzes of irregular duration with a broad band of frequencies similar to the calling song.