Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Auchenorrhyncha
Infraorder: Cicadomorpha
Superfamily: Cicadoidea
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadettinae
Tribe: Cicadettini
Genus: Kikihia
Species: K. subalpina
Scientific name: Kikihia subalpine
Common name: Sub alpine green cicada
Kikihia subalpina is a small New Zealand cicada endemic to the high elevation areas of the southern half of the North Island, from a line from East Cape pass the north of the central plateau to Mokau on the west coast just north of Taranaki. Kikihia subalpina is found throughout much of the low- to mid-elevation areas of the South Island and Stewart Island. It is rarely found above the tree line.
Kikihia subalpine has a body length of 18-22mm and a wingspan >57mm. They commonly are a bright green with heavy black and reddish-brown markings on the dorsal side. There are colour variants that are coloured yellow, brown or reddish instead of the normal green. These variants are common in Westland in Franz Josef Glacier and Fox Glacier areas. There is a very rare blue variant. Kikihia subalpine wing veins are red. The males have lime green tymbals which they buckle to make their distinctive call. The dominant frequencies of the song are above 8kHz, so they can be difficult for older people to hear.
A ventral view.of a female
Most individuals are lightly covered in long hairs.
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
