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Luminary Oddities · Natural history & art
Cryptotympana aquila
Hemiptera / Cicadidae
Cryptotympana aquila is a Southeast Asian cicada with a glossy dark upper body, an orange-brown underside and partly transparent wings. Malaysian recordings document its structured song, and laboratory research has measured bacterial killing on its forewing surfaces.
Read the species account
Cryptotympana aquila belongs to Cicadidae. Its original name was Fidicina aquila; the World Auchenorrhyncha Database places the species in Tacuini, subtribe Tacuina. [1]
Boulard’s examined specimens have a glossy dark body, orange-brown coloration below and dark wing bases that contrast with the transparent outer membranes. [3]
Lee’s Laos treatment records the species from Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia. It also corrects the historical attribution to Korea, removing C. aquila from the Korean species list. [2]
Gogala and Trilar recorded identified C. aquila from Gua Musang and Merapoh in Peninsular Malaysia. Its signal alternates pulsed broadband sections with continuous broadband sound; lower-pitched linking portions rise in frequency. [4]
The researchers elicited calls from caged individuals by playing an unidentified cicada’s ‘fireman’ song. The responding specimens were retained as vouchers in the Slovenian Museum of Natural History. [4]
Kelleher and colleagues found uniform nanopillars on the tested forewing surfaces. In laboratory adhesion assays with Pseudomonas fluorescens, the C. aquila samples had a high ratio of dead to live bacterial cells, demonstrating a bactericidal effect under the study conditions. [5]
Aquila is Latin for ‘eagle’. The species was first named in the genus Fidicina and is now placed in Cryptotympana. [1]
The dorsal surface shows the dark upper body and wing bases; the ventral surface reveals the contrasting orange-brown underside. [3]
The Midnight and Gold editions use contrasting backgrounds to emphasize the dark body and transparent wing regions.
Keep the frame in indirect light, away from heat and persistent damp. Handle it by the edges, keep the enclosure closed and clean only the exterior. Seek conservation advice if loose fragments, moisture or insect activity appear inside.
Boulard describes adult morphology, and Lee revises the distribution. Gogala and Trilar analyse Malaysian recordings and playback responses. Kelleher and colleagues investigate forewing nanostructure and bacterial viability. [3][2][4][5]
World Auchenorrhyncha Database · Accessed 2026-10-09
Lee; Annales de la Société entomologique de France (2014) · Accessed 2026-10-09
Boulard; Annales de la Société entomologique de France (2003) · Accessed 2026-10-09
Gogala and Trilar; Serangga (2005) · Accessed 2026-10-09
Kelleher and colleagues; ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 8(24):14966–14974 (2016; first published online 2015) · Accessed 2026-10-09
Framed and digital artworks featuring this species. Current options and prices are listed on Etsy.
Sources checked 2026-10-09. Illustrations · Luminary Oddities.
Return to the Entomological Atlas ↑Australian Museum · Accessed 2026-10-09
