Abstract
Cicada is a very familiar insect to people but habitat characteristics of them are not well known. To investigate habitat characteristics of cicada nymph, plant species, plant cover, soil hardness, accumulated organic mass, organic content in soil, and root density were investigated at 11 sites in an apartment complex garden in Seoul. Selected sites had different densities of cicada nymph case above the ground. Density of cicada nymph case was positively correlated with accumulated organic mass, organic content in soil, and root density and negatively correlated with soil hardness. Even though shrub coverage was not linearly correlated with the density of cicada nymph case, 80% cover of shrub was necessary for the high density of them. Data in this study suggested that organic matter in addition to root density be the primary limitation factor of cicada nymph and high amount of litter-fall decrease soil hardness through the increase of soil organic matter. This study suggests that the density of cicada nymph can be managed through organic content in soil.
