[A first study on the cicada distributed in the fruit orchards in the village Erneh, and applying some control methods on it]

A first study was conducted on cicadas distributed in apple fruit orchards in the village Erneh, country side of Damascus, and some control methods were applied on it during 2011-2012. In this study, Two species of cicadas distributed in Erneh were recorded for the first time in Syria during the field study for summer 2011. The first one was Cicadatra persica which is distributed basically on the fruit trees specially on apple trees, and the second one was Cicadatra platyptera which is distributed basically on the thistle plants and fruit trees. The both species were described morphologically and acoustically. Only one different individual was found among the individuals of C. platyptera which was collected during the field study. It was similar to the other individuals of C. platyptera, but it was different from them in the pronotum and front wings characters. No acoustic sound was recorded for that individual so it couldn't be identified exactly. A study on egg nests of C. persica was also conducted. The results showed that the females of C. persica laid two basic patterns of egg nests, the first one formed 90%, and the second one 10%. The number of slits per nest and the number of eggs per slit were counted. The correlation between the length of egg nest (L), the number of slits per egg nest (S), and the number of eggs per egg nest (E) was analyzed. The results showed that there was a strong positive correlation between theses three variables and the supreme value of the correlation coefficient was between (S) and (E). Regression linear was also found for (E), (S), and (L). The best model was Y = -16.145- + 12.688X Y: the number of eggs per egg nests (E) X: the number of slits per egg nests (S) The morphological differences among the individuals of C. persica were studied (n=300; 150 males + 150 females). The results showed that there were two basic patterns of individuals, the first one include individuals with yellow supra-antennal plates, and this pattern formed more than 90%. The second pattern include individuals with black supra-antennal 163 plates, and this pattern formed less than 10%. These percents were similar to the percents of the two basic patterns of egg nests. There were also several patterns of individuals according to the number of spurs on the hind tibias. There was also a common pattern of individuals (whose individuals have 3 spurs on the side face of the hind tibias and 2 spurs on the upper face of the hind tibias) which formed 76%. It was obvious that this percent was similar to the percent of apple trees in Erneh (75%). The damage percent of C. persica on apple trees was 60% during summer 2011. The results showed that there was a strong positive correlation between the extremity of the tree damage and the number of emerged adults from the ground under the tree (R= + 0.967). The percent of adults emergence during summer 2011 was 63.7%. Some biological aspects of C. persica were studied during summer 2011. The results showed that the adults emerged on 7/ 6/ 2011, the peak of emergence was in the fourth week of June (23/6-29/6). The emergence period was 5 weeks (from 14/6 till 17/7). Egg laying started on 14/ 6/ 2011, and persisted from 25/6 till 9/7, and the last egg nest was found on 13/7. Egg laying period persisted for more than a month (from 14/6- 17/7), and the eggs hatched after 40 days. The eggs hatching period persisted for 3 weeks with a peak on 4, 7/8/2011. Egg laying, incubation, and hatching periods were also studied on 10 nursling apple trees put in a small netted house closed tightly in GCSAR, Douma. The first hatch was in the first week of August and the peak was on 6/8/2011. The egg incubation period in Douma was less than it in Erneh, and the egg hatching period persisted for one week, the peak of hatch persisted for 2- 3 days in both Erneh and Douma. The adults of C. persica did not attract to the colors (yellow, blue, and red). The males of C. persica were singng three types of songs; the continuous song, the calling song, and the courtship song, and these songs were analyzed using Speech Analyzer software. The marriage between a male and a female of C. persica was overseen, and this marriage persisted for about half an hour.Some control methods were applied on the pest C. persica. The results showed that netting did not prevent the females from laying eggs on the twigs of the netted trees. Covering the soil surface under the tree with a mental net prevented the fully development nymphs from emerging out of the mental net causing death to it. But this methods need much money and effort and also consume time. The insecticides applied on the soil under the treatment trees were Confidor (Imidaclopride) and Chlorotox (Chlorpyrifos). The results showed that they weren't effective in reducing the number of emerged nymphs from the treated soil. The results also showed that the oil was not effective in reducing the egg hatch when it was applied directly on the egg nests.