Oliarus polyphemus

Oliarus polyphemus
Conservation status
	; Critically Imperiled (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hemiptera
Suborder:	Auchenorrhyncha
Infraorder:	Fulgoromorpha
Family:	Cixiidae
Genus:	Oliarus
Species:	O. polyphemus
Binomial name
	Oliarus polyphemus; Fennah 1973

Oliarus polyphemus, the Hawai'i cave planthopper,[2] is a species of Oliarus planthopper endemic to the island of Hawai'i, where it inhabits lava tubes and crevice networks embedded in solidified lava flows.

Description

Oliarus polyphemus is completely pale and unpigmented. It has no eyes and as such is completely blind. Individuals range from 3.2-5mm in length, with females being larger than males.[3] Adults are flightless.[2]

Distribution and habitat

Olarius polyphemus is only found on the island of Hawai'i. It is thought to live primarily in a vast network of underground cooling cracks formed when pahoehoe lava from the island's various volcanoes solidified.[4] This crevice habitat is thought to be the primary habitat of O. polyphemus and other Hawai'i cave endemic arthropods, but individuals often enter large lava tube caves. Due to the difficulty of surveying the primary crevice habitat, O. polyphemus is only ever encountered in these lava tubes.

This species is capable of colonizing newly formed lava tubes and crevice networks relatively quickly after they are formed by a volcanic eruption. For example, cave planthoppers have been present in Kaumana Cave (which was created by a 1888 Mauna Loa eruption) since at least 1972 and likely much longer.[5]

Ecology

Olarius polyphemus relies on the roots of the ʻōhiʻa tree, which reach deep underground into the lava tubes and cooling cracks that the planthoppers inhabit. Nymphs feed by sucking sap from older roots, making a wax filament cocoon to protect itself while it feeds. When it is finished feeding, a nymph builds another cocoon and spend about one week transforming into an adult. Adults probably do not feed and rely on stored fat reserves for energy.[2]

O. polyphemus is sometimes killed by an unknown parasitic fungus.[2]

Adult Hawai'i cave planthopper being parasitized by an unknown fungus

References

"NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
Howarth, Francis G. "Community structure and niche differentiation in Hawaiian lava tubes." US/IBP synthesis series (1981).
Fennah, R. G. (20 May 1973). "THE CAVERNICOLOUS FAUNA OF HAWAIIAN LAVA TUBES 4. TWO NEW BLIND OLIARUS" (PDF). Pacific Insects. 15 (1).
Chapman, P. R. J. "ARE THE CAVERNICOLES FOUND IN HAVVAIIAN LAVA TUBES JUST VISITING 9." (1985).
Hoch, Hannelore, and Francis G. Howarth. "Evolutionary dynamics of behavioral divergence among populations of the Hawaiian cave-dwelling planthopper Oliarus polyphemus (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea: Cixiidae)." (1993).

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 2023-08-02.

[:0-2] Howarth, Francis G. "Community structure and niche differentiation in Hawaiian lava tubes." US/IBP synthesis series (1981).

[3] Fennah, R. G. (20 May 1973). "THE CAVERNICOLOUS FAUNA OF HAWAIIAN LAVA TUBES 4. TWO NEW BLIND OLIARUS" (PDF). Pacific Insects. 15 (1).

[4] Chapman, P. R. J. "ARE THE CAVERNICOLES FOUND IN HAVVAIIAN LAVA TUBES JUST VISITING 9." (1985).

[5] Hoch, Hannelore, and Francis G. Howarth. "Evolutionary dynamics of behavioral divergence among populations of the Hawaiian cave-dwelling planthopper Oliarus polyphemus (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea: Cixiidae)." (1993).