Cicadetta

Cicadetta
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Family: Cicadidae
Genus: Cicadetta
Kolenati, 1857
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Cicadetta, in North America colloquially known as the "small grass cicadas", is a genus of generally small-bodied annual cicadas widespread across portions of the Nearctic, Palearctic, Oriental, and Ethiopian ecozones.[1] In older scientific and taxonomic literature, this genus was popularly referred to as Melampsalta. These cicadas occur in a diverse spectrum of habitats, although most taxa are typically associated with weedy meadows and tallgrass prairie ecosystems.

Many members of the genus inhabit Southern Europe, Greece, Anatolia, and coastal Mediterranean regions, and they have a long history of association with the civilizations of those areas; revered by many cultures for their complex, loud, and sometimes melodic courtship calls.

Most of the cicadas within this genus are classified by conservation groups as least concern, however; many species are endemic to a particular isolated area or they are threatened by habitat loss primarily due to grazing.

Species

References

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