Feeding ecology and emergence production of annual cicadas (Homoptera : Cicadidae) in tallgrass prairie

The emergence phenology and feeding ecology of annual cicadas in tallgrass prairie an poorly documented. However, these large insects are abundant, an d their annual emergence represents a potentially important flux of energy and nutrients from belowground to aboveground. We conducted a study at Konz a Prairie Research Natural Area in eastern Kansas to characterize and quant ify cicada emergence and associated energy and nutrient fluxes. We establis hed emergence trap transects in three habitat types (upland prairie, lowlan d prairie, and riparian forest), and collected cicadas every 3 days from Ma y to September. A subset of trapped cicadas was used for species- and sex-s pecific mass, nutrient, and stable isotope analyses. Five species were trap ped during the study, of which three were dominant. Cicadetta calliope and Tibicen aurifera exhibited significantly higher emergence production in upl and prairie than in lowland prairie, and were not captured in forested site s at all. T dorsata emerged from all three habitat types, and though not si gnificant, showed a trend of greater abundance in lowland grasslands. Two l ess abundant species, T pruinosa and T. lyricen, emerged exclusively from f orested habitats. Nitrogen fluxes associated with total cicada emergence we re estimated to be similar to 4 kg N ha(-1) year(-1) in both grassland habi tats, and 1.01 kg N ha(-1) year' in forested sites. Results of stable isoto pe analyses showed clear patterns of resource partitioning among dominant c icada species emerging from grassland sites. T. aurifera and C. calliope ha d delta(13)C and delta(15)N signatures indicative of feeding on shallowly r ooted C-4 plants such as the warm-season grasses dominant in tallgrass prai rie ecosystems, whereas T dorsata signatures suggested preferential feeding on more deeply rooted C-3 plants.