140 Northeastern Naturalist Vol. 19, No. 1
140
First Breeding Record of the Cicada Okanagana rimosa Say
(Say’s Cicada) in New Jersey
Scott E. McDonnell1,* and David P. Moskowitz1,2
Abstract - The range of Okanagana rimosa (Say’s Cicada) in eastern North America appears to
be widespread but patchy. We report the first known occurrence of mating by the species in New
Jersey. We also report the first known record of the species from the state from a previously unpublished
specimen collected in 1942 and deposited in the American Museum of Natural History
collection. These two reports spanning 68 years are the only known specimens from New Jersey.
On 8 June 2010, a copulating pair of the cicada Okanagana rimosa Say (Say’s Cicada)
was collected by S.E. McDonnell within the Rockaway River Wildlife Management Area,
Jefferson Township, Morris County, NJ (Fig. 1). The cicadas were first observed on the
1EcolSciences, Inc. 75 Fleetwood Drive, Suite 250, Rockaway, NJ 07866. 2Rutgers University Entomology
Program, New Brunswick, NJ. *Corresponding author - smcdonnell@ecolsciences.com.
Figure 1. Photograph
(dorsal view) of the
breeding pair (Leftfemale
/ Right-male)
of the cicada Okanagana
rimosa Say collected
by S. McDonnell
within the Rockaway
River Wildlife
Management Area,
Jefferson Township,
Morris County, NJ.
Notes of the Northeastern Nat u ral ist, Issue 19/1, 2012
2012 Northeastern Naturalist Notes 141
ground in copula at approximately 14:30 within an emergent wetland on the east side of
Beaver Brook, at the edge of a deciduous wooded slope, immediately north of an electric
transmission line right-of-way (40.986°N, 74.563°W). A subsequent search with J.
Cooley on 18 June 2010 failed to locate any additional specimens or exuviae.
The collected pair was examined by J. Cooley, and the male appeared more orange
in color than is typical of the species in other parts of the range (J. Cooley, Ohio State
University, Columbus, OH, 18 June 2010 pers. comm.). However, both the male and the
female were confirmed as O. rimosa by J. Cooley (17 July 2010 pers. comm.) through
examination of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase II gene, which is commonly
used in the phylogenetic analysis of cicadas (Arensburger et al. 2004a, b; Buckley et
al. 2002; Marshall et al. 2008). This case is the first known evidence of breeding by the
species in New Jersey and only the second and third specimens known to be collected
in the state. The cicadas will be deposited in the Rutgers University Insect Collection as
voucher specimens.
The range of O. rimosa in eastern North America appears to be widespread but patchy
(Brown and Brown 1990; Bunker 2007; Davis 1919, 1926, 1930, 1941). There is a single
reference of its potential to occur in New Jersey in early New Jersey entomological literature
(Smith 1899); however, in a subsequent report, the species was listed as “probably
not a part of our fauna” (NJSM 1909). An early review of the cicada fauna of the state
also indicated the species had not been found in New Jersey (Davis 1926). There are no
specimens in the Rutgers University Insect Collection.
The distribution of O. rimosa was extensively investigated by A. Sanborn through a
search of records and specimens in more then 100 institutions. No specimens attributable to
New Jersey were initially found (A. Sanborn, Barry University, Miami Shores, FL, 12 June
2010 pers. comm.). However, a subsequent search of the American Museum of Natural
Figure 2. Photograph (dorsal view) of the cicada Okanagana rimosa Say specimen collected in
New Jersey by M. Cazier in 1942 and currently held within the collections of the American Museum
of Natural History.
142 Northeastern Naturalist Vol. 19, No. 1
History collections yielded a previously unrecorded specimen of O. rimosa collected at
Greenwood Lake, NJ by M. Cazier in 1942 (Fig. 2; C. Johnson, American Museum of Natural
History, New York, NY, 29 October 2010 pers. comm.). The appearance of this specimen
is consistent with O. rimosa (A. Sanborn and J. Cooley, 13 November 2010 pers. comm.).
It is the first known O. rimosa specimen attributable to New Jersey and the only known
O. rimosa specimen from the state prior to the recent collection by S. McDonnell. Outside
of New Jersey, the nearest previously known records of O. rimosa were from Pike County
in eastern Pennsylvania (Davis 1926) and from Rockland, Orange, and Queens counties in
eastern New York (A. Sanborn, 25 October 2010 pers. comm.).
Acknowledgments. We are extremely appreciative of the assistance given by John Cooley
in understanding the distribution of O. rimosa in New Jersey and elsewhere and for confi
rming the species identification, to Allen Sanborn for sharing the results of his exhaustive
distributional investigations, and to both John and Allen for their review and helpful comments
that improved this manuscript. We also thank George Hamilton and Frank Carle of the
Department of Entomology at Rutgers University for assistance with the preparation of tissue
samples and for their generous use of the Rutgers University Insect Collection, Christine
Johnson for her review of the cicada collection at the American Museum of Natural History,
Jason Weintraub for his review of the cicada collection at the Academy of Natural Sciences,
and Ed Johnson for his review of the cicada collection at the Staten Island Museum. Finally,
we also thank EcolSciences, Inc., Rockaway, NJ for the opportunity and resources to conduct
the fieldwork and to prepare this manuscript.
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