Yoyetta bushi, Emery, 2025

Emery, David L., 2025, Description of four new cicada species in the genus Yoyetta Moulds (Hemiptera: Cicadidae: Cicadettinae), from Eastern Australia, Zootaxa 5665 (4), pp. 509-542 : 511-518

Yoyetta bushi sp. nov.

( Plates 1–2 ; Figs. 1–3 )

Types. Holotype ♂, Kangaroo River State Forest , Towallum, 30°07'42"S 152°51'09"E, 22.xi.2022, T. J. Bush ( EME0785-001 ) (K.629041; AM).

Paratypes. NEW SOUTH WALES: 1♂, 1♀, same location as holotype, 22-24.xi.2022, T . J. Bush , ( EME0785- 002 , 005 ) (K.629042, K.629043; AM) ; 8♂♂, same location as holotype, 22-24.xi.2022, T . J. Bush , ( EME0785- 003 – 004 , 006–009 ; -003, genitalia prep 785-1) ; 6♂♂, Kangaroo River State Forest, Towallum , 30°07'45"S 152°51'06 ‘E, 8.xii.2022, T . J. Bush ( EME0785-012 – 017 ) ; 2♀♀, Towallum , 30°07'44"S 152°51'01"E, 15.xii.2022, T . J. Bush ( EME0785-021 – 022 ) ( DE) ; 1♂, same location as holotype, 23.xi.2022, T . J. Bush; 1♂, same location as holotype, 28.xi.2022, T . J. Bush; 2♂♂, Towallum , 30°07'44"S 152°51'01"E, 15.xii.2022, T . J. Bush; 1♀, Towallum , 30°07'45"S 152°51'06"E, 8.xii. 2022, T . J. Bush; 1♂, same location as holotype, 20.x.2023, T . J. Bush ( TJB) ; 3♂♂, AUSTRALIA-NSW, Kangaroo Ck., Towallum , 30°07'41"S 152°51'11"E, 8.xii.2022, T .J. Bush; 3♂♂, same location as holotype, 6.xii.2023, T . J. Bush ( EME0785-018 – 020 ) ( LWP) ; 2♂♂, same location as holotype, 22-24.xi.2022, T . J. Bush , ( EME0785-010 – 011 ) ( MM) .

Audio records (TJB). NEW SOUTH WALES: Wild Cattle Creek , 30°11'29"S 152°48'59"E, 16.xii.2022 ; Deadmans Range Rd, Clouds Creek , 30°04'47"S 152°38'19"E, 29.xii.2022 ; Clouds Creek , 30°08'02"S 152°36'07"E, 17.xi.2023 ; Girard State Forest , 28°56'14" 152°18'03", 8.xii.2023 ; Girard State Forest , 28°56'37"S 152°17'58"E, 8.xii.2023 ; Towallum , 30°07'42"S 152°51'09"E, 17.x.2024 ; Clouds Creek , 30°08'02"S 152°36'07"E, 24.x.2024 ; Towallum , 30°07'42"S 152°51'09"E, 14.xi.2024 ; Girard State Forest , 28°56'14" 152°18'05", 6.xii.2024 .

Aural records (TJB, DE). Moonpar Forest Drive , 30°13'45"S 152°39'06"E; 1.xii.2023 .

Distribution, habitat and seasonality. Plate 2E–F ; Fig. 1 ). Currently, Y. bushi sp. nov. is found predominantly in pockets of dry Blackbutt ( Eucalyptus pilularis ) or in Sydney Blue Gum ( Eucalyptus saligna ) forests at elevations greater than 500m in Girard State Forest and in the region of Nymboi-Binderay National Park ( Fig. 1 ). In Kangaroo River State Forest (30°07'S 152°51'E), specimens are found almost exclusively within dry Blackbutt forest. More extensive analysis of bushland habitat by TJB revealed additional sites with the dry Blackbutt habitat in Wild Cattle Creek State Forest (30°11'S 152°48'E) around 7km SSW of Towallum and at Clouds Creek (30°08'S 152°36'E) around 24km WNW of Towallum where Y. bushi sp. nov. was also found and the song recorded. The species has also been located and recorded in Sydney Blue Gum forests within Girard and Moonpar State Forests. The areas inhabited by this species consist of small plateaus and ridgetops with forest which is more open than the surrounding denser bush ( Plate 2E–F ). Adult males show a preference for the dense crown of juvenile trees in the understorey or in more established forests with few juvenile trees, males call from the upper branches of eucalypts. Females have been observed on Forest Oak ( Allocasuarina torulosa ) and amongst the foliage of Blackbutt saplings but have been located most often sitting on the bark of small to medium sized dead trees within the understorey. Specimens have been observed from mid-October until early January.

Populations of Y. bushi sp. nov. co-locate with Y. timothyi Emery, Emery & Popple , which was heard calling in the canopy at Girard State Forest, Towallum and Clouds Creek. Within Girard State Forest, they also co-locate with Y. ignita and another undescribed Yoyetta where New England Blackbutt ( E. campanulata ) forest converges with Sydney Blue Gum forest.

Etymology This species is named after Tony Bush, who initially located specimens on his birthday, then captured and recorded all the specimens currently in collections.

Description of adult male ( Plates 1A–B, E–F , 2A–C ; Fig. 2 )

Head including eyes about as wide as lateral margins of pronotal collar, wider than mesonotum, predominantly black around ocelli and eyes, an ochraceous triangular spot on the central posterior margin; postclypeus ochraceous dorsally, black ventrally, brown along posterior margin, transverse ridges black with ochraceous lateral margins; anteclypeus, lorum and gena black. Rostrum black proximally, brown centrally, becoming black apically, extending midway between middle and hind coxae. Antennae black, antennomeres black, pedicles black; eyes black, dark brown when alive, ocelli red.

Thorax. Pronotum ochraceous brown along midline and raised areas, black areas either side of midline at posterior margin, additional black markings along paramedian and lateral fissures; pronotal collar dark brown, suffused with black over lateral third, lateral angles rounded, black. Mesonotum black, with ochraceous-brown areas around sigilla; scutal depressions black, cruciform elevation and lateral ridges black, depressions orange-brown; metanotum black centrally and at extremities, dull orange-brown over remainder. Thorax below black.

Legs. Coxae black; trochanters black, coxal membranes orange-red; femora black with lighter lateral and distal areas, primary spine light brown, angled 45 o; tibiae dark brown, becoming lighter distally; fore- and mid-tarsi dark brown becoming light at tips, hind-tarsi cream; claws brown to black. Meracantha triangulate, pale, partially overlapping opercula ( Plate 2B ).

Wings. Hyaline; forewings with 8 apical cells; costal vein parallel-sided, orange to node, becoming darker distally, CuA orange, other venation black, reddish pterostigma present; basal cell tinged orange along anterior margin, translucent over remainder; basal membrane dull orange-black. Hind wings with distinct orange-grey plaga over jugum and proximal half of 2A; venation black, with 6 apical cells.

Opercula ( Plate 2B ). Black at base, becoming pale cream over remainder, ovate, covering rim of distal margin of tympanal cavity, almost reaching the to the distal margin of tergite 2, not meeting.

Timbals ( Plate 2A ) with five long ribs; ribs 1-3 attached to basal spur, separated ventrally and spanning the timbal membrane, rib 4 extending almost the full length of the timbal membrane; rib 5 unattached, extending over the medial two-thirds of the timbal membrane; timbal plate with well developed, elongate dome bearing a distinct point of apodeme attachment near centre.

Abdomen ( Plate 2C ). Tergite 1 black; tergite 2 black with small dark orange-brown circular markings either side of midline; tergites 3–7 predominantly dark orange each with a distinct black mark on dorsal midline, this mark broadest on tergite 3 and equivalently narrower on tergites 4–7, with black annular markings on the posterior third, expanding ventrally to cover the posterior two-thirds, widest laterally on tergites 4–6; tergite 8 black; epipleurites black along medial border, orange-grey over remainder, flexed ventrally. Sternites I–II black; sternites III-VII smudged orange-grey over anterior two-thirds, light orange posteriorly, sternite VII with a central black spot on the posterior half; sternite VIII black anteriorly, becoming pale cream over the posterior half.

Genitalia ( Fig. 2 ). Pygofer black, upper lobe of moderate size with a broadly rounded apex, in ventral view angled medially; basal pygofer lobe smaller, weakly developed, slightly rounded, a distinct groove angled around 45 o antero-ventrally between both lobes; median lobe of uncus of moderate length, in lateral view ‘hipped’ posteriorly at base, evenly tapering to a rounded apex ( Fig. 2A ); claspers robust, ‘duck-beaked’ in lateral view, separated, in ventral view their inner margins diverging laterally and apically, outer margins notched near base, gently turned outwards to a bluntly pointed apex ( Fig. 2B ); basal plate ‘teat-like’, gently curved and widest at base, narrowing from hinge region to a rounded apex ( Fig. 2B ); aedeagus recurved distally through 150 o with ornamentation distally from the recurvature, the vesica broadened and distinctly toothed either side towards the apex, apex terminating in a short, slender ‘beak’ pointing outwards, downturned 30 o viewed laterally, with a pair of very small flat ear-like flanges directed medially and minutely toothed caudally ( Figs. 2D, E ); a ‘viking helmet, wings and ears’ shape viewed laterally ( Fig. 2D ); pseudoparameres very long and slender, reaching the distal recurvature of the aedeagus, each with a rounded apex ( Fig. 2C ).

Description of adult female ( Plates 1C–D, G–H ; 2D . Colour and markings similar to male but lighter brown; black coloration present lateral to cruciform elevation. Abdominal tergites with dark brown posterior margins; abdominal segment 9 orange-brown, tending orange ventrally. Ovipositor sheath black; ovipositor striped dark brown and black, black at tip, extending 2–2.5mm beyond posterior abdomen.

Measurements (in mm; range with mean in parentheses for 10 males and 4 females, including smallest and largest specimens). Length of body including head: male 17.4–19.2 (18.5); female 21.3–22.6 (21.5). Length of fore wing: male 20.8–23.2 (21.9); female 24.3–26.0 (25.0). Forewing width: male 6.6–7.3 (6.9); female 7.9–8.2 (8.1). Width of head (including eyes): male 5.1–7.7 (5.4); female 5.3–5.8 (5.6). Width of pronotum (across lateral angles): male 5.1–5.6 (5.3); female 5.8–6.2 (6.0). Width of abdomen: male 4.7–5.3 (5.1); female 5.1–5.3 (5.2). Length of ovipositor: 7.1–7.5 (7.3).

Morphological variations between and within population. Across its distribution, both male and female specimens of Yoyetta bushi sp. nov. exhibit coloration ranging from light and darker brown to blackish over the mesonotum and dorsal abdomen ( Plate 1E–H ).

Morphological distinguishing features. Males of Yoyetta bushi sp. nov. can be differentiated from males of Yoyetta species by three main features: (1) a body length (BL) 17.4–19.2mm; (2) hindwing with orange-grey plaga over jugum and proximal half of 2A; (3) lateral edges of tergites diffuse orange, with distinct and extensive dark markings along posterior margin.

Females of Y. bushi sp. nov. can be distinguished from other female Yoyetta species by 3 criteria: (1), hindwing with orange-grey plaga over jugum and proximal half of 2A; (2) BL between 21.3–22.6; and, (3) an ovipositor extending 2–2.5mm beyond abdominal segment 9.

Calling song ( Fig 3 ). The male calling song is a series of clicking that ends in a short or long buzz. An examination of the song structure (all statistics, n =9 recordings from Towallum and Wild Cattle Creek localities) as illustrated in Fig. 3 shows each ‘click’ is a syllable comprising of 4-6 pulses (0.006 –0.026 s). Amongst recordings, the number of clicks in a sequence varied considerably from 9 to 41. The ‘short buzz’ at the end of a clicking sequence is a single syllable immediately followed by a short macrosyllable (0.030 –0.071 s; Fig. 3C, E ). By comparison, the ‘long buzz’ is an echeme that decreases in amplitude throughout (0.116 –0.348 s; Fig. 3B, D ). The frequency plateau of the male calling song ranges from approximately 10.3 to 16.3 kHz, with a dominant frequency between 11.6 and 14.7 kHz (n= 3, RS1; Fig. 3F ). It was noted in the field by TJB that the length of the buzz component of the song will be switched back and forth without any apparent stimulus, but the longer buzz frequently precedes the cessation of calling .

Y. bushi sp. nov. predominantly calls at rest and observed instances of males calling in flight are an exceptionally rare phenomenon. Calling occurs in sunlight with cloud cover significantly reducing activity. Males commence calling between 0830h and 0900h (Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time (AEDT) GMT +11 hours) frequently moving between perches. By 1130h (AEDT) much of the activity ceases, males move higher into the trees and become more sedentary but will continue to call sporadically until late in the afternoon. Finger snapping can sometimes elicit a response from calling males when timed correctly, but more often than not, this technique fails to attract their attention.

The calling song of Yoyetta bushi sp. nov. closely resembles the high-frequency songs of Yoyetta fluviatilis Emery, Emery & Popple and Y. robertsonae Moulds, Popple & Emery. However , its structure differs: Y. fluviatilis produces a short buzz followed by a click, whereas Y. bushi sp. nov. emits a series of distinct clicks before a short buzz. Similarly, the calling song of Y. robertsonae is much lower frequency and features evenly spaced groups of three clicks but lacks the final short buzz present in Y. bushi sp. nov.

Figures

PLATE 1 Yoyetta bushi sp. nov.; (A), holotype male, Towallum, NSW (30°07'S;152°51'E), dorsal habitus; (B) male, ventral habitus; (C) female, Towallum, NSW, dorsal habitus; (D) female, ventral habitus; (E), Y. bushi sp. nov., light-coloured live male, Towallum, NSW; (F) dark live male specimen from Towallum, NSW; (G), light-coloured live female, Towallum, NSW; (H), dark live female from Towallum, NSW. Live photo credits, Tony Bush. Scale bars = 10 mm.

PLATE 2 Yoyetta bushi sp. nov.; (A) male left timbal, with dorsal edge at left and posterior margin at bottom. Specimen from Towallum, NSW (30°07'S;152°51'E); (B) male left opercula; specimen from Towallum, NSW; (C) male, left lateral abdomen; specimen from Towallum, NSW; (D), female, lateral left abdomen; specimen from Towallum, NSW; (E), typical woodland habitat of Y. bushi sp. nov. at Kangaroo River State Forest, Towallum, NSW; (F), typical habitat at Wild Cattle Creek State Forest, Lowanna, NSW. Habitat photos by Tony Bush. Scale bars = 1 mm (A, B); 5mm (C, D).

FIGURE 1. Map of south-eastern Australia showing the geographical distribution of Y. bushi sp. nov. (circles), Y. nathani sp. nov. (triangles), Y. crepita sp. nov. (stars) and Y. corbinorum sp. nov. (squares).

FIGURE 2. Y. bushi n sp. nov.: illustration of male pygofer and internal genitalia; (a), viewed laterally from the left; (b), viewed ventrally; (c), aedeagus; (d), apex of theca. Characters include: aed, aedeagus; bpl, basal lobe of pygofer; cl, clasper; db, dorsal beak; ps, pseudoparameres; th, theca; upl, upper lobe of pygofer. Specimen from Towallum (30°07'S 152°51'E).

FIGURE 3. Male calling song structure of Y. bushi sp. nov., illustrated in waveform plots, including (A) typical song phrases (at rest); (B) expanded section from A showing the macrosyllables and long buzz; (C) expanded section from A showing the macrosyllables and short buzz; (D) shows the detailed structure of the long buzz (echeme); (E) shows the detailed structure of the short buzz (macrosyllable) The final subfigure (F) is a spectrogram displaying song frequency. This specimen was recorded in the field at Towallum by TJB using RS1(see Methods and Terminology).