THE SEASONAL AND NOCTURNAL ATTRACTION OF PROARNA AND PACARINA CICADAS TO LIGHTS IN THE CARIBBEAN FLOODPLAIN OF COSTA RICA AND IN FRENCH GUIANA (HEMIPTERA: CICADIDAE)

摘要

Adults of two species of cicadas, Proarna sallei Stal, 1864 and Pacarina championi (Distant, 1881) (Hemiptera: Cicadidae), were observed and counted at a cluster of three electric lights on the wall of a cacao storage building at La Lola. La Lola is an experimental cocoa farm, near Matina, Costa Rica, Central America. Observations were taken intermittently from 1980 to 1986. All individuals at the lights for both species were females. Of the total 19 individuals of Pa. championi counted, 94.7% occurred during the wetter periods. Eighty-eight percent of the 25 Pr. sallei individuals occurred during the wetter periods. Although not as biased as the Costa Rican site, females made up 70% of the total 530 specimens of Pr. insignis Distant, 1881 collected at various types of light traps in the Department of French Guiana, South America. Similar female bias is also reported for Pr. grisea (Fabricius, 1775) and Pr. guttulosa (Walker, 1858) also collected in South America. Previous studies show the sex ratio of Proarna and other genera of cicadas in Costa Rica is 1: 1 at adult eclosion. The data are discussed in terms of possible behavioral differences between the sexes in the attraction to lights.