The DGaaE working group as well as the non-profit association "Arbeitskreis Zikaden Mitteleuropas e. V." mainly deal with questions of ecology, systematics, taxonomy and zoogeography of the Central European cicadas (Auchenorrhyncha: Fulgoromorpha and Cicadomorpha) and leaf fleas (Psylloidea). Since 1994 the working group has held annual meetings in different regions of Central Europe, either as a pure excursion meeting in summer or as a conference with lectures and excursions in late summer. The meetings are regularly reported in the DGaaE-News.

In order to publish the latest research results in the field of cicada studies, the Arbeitskreis Zikaden Mitteleuropas e. V. publishes the journal "Cicadina", the only journal worldwide dedicated solely to cicadas.

Publikations

Selected publications of members of the study groups on ecology, biology and identification of cicadas:

• Nickel, H. (2003): The Leafhoppers and Planthoppers of Germany (Hemiptera Auchenorrhyncha): Patterns and strategies in a highly diverse group of phytophageous insects. – Pensoft Publishers, Sofia‐Moscow (ISBN 954‐642‐169‐3).
• Holzinger, W.E., Kammerlander, I., Nickel, H. (2003): The Auchenorrhyncha of Central Europe. Die Zikaden Mitteleuropas. Fulgoromorpha, Cicadomorpha Excl. Cicadellidae. Brill, Leiden (ISBN 90-04-12895-6).
• Biedermann, R. & Niedringhaus, R. (2004): Die Zikaden Deutschlands. Bestimmungstafeln für alle Arten. WABV Fründ (ISBN 978-3-939202-00-4).
• Biedermann, R. & Niedringhaus, R. (2009): The planthopppers and leafhoppers of Germany. WABV Fründ (ISBN 978-3-939202-01-1).
• Strümpel, H. (2010): Die Zikaden - Auchenorrhyncha. Die Neue Brehm-Bücherei, Band 668, Westarp Wissenschaften(ISBN 978-3-89432-893-1).
• den Bieman, K., Biedermann, R., Nickel, H., Niedringhaus, R. (2011): The planthoppers and leafhoppers of Benelux. Cicadina Suppl. 1, WABV Fründ (978-3-939202-03-5).
• Kunz, G., Nickel, H. Niedringhaus, R. (2011): Fotoatlas der Zikaden Mitteleuropas. WABV Fründ (ISBN 978-3-939202-02-8).
• Stockmann, M., Biedermann, R., Nickel, H., Niedringhaus, R. (2013): The Nymphs of the plant hoppers and leafhoppers of Germany. WABV Fründ (ISBN 978-3-939202-04-2).
• Wilson, M., Stewart, A., Biedermann, R., Nickel, H., Niedringhaus, R. (2015): The planthoppers and leafhoppers of Britain and Ireland. Cicadina Suppl. 2, WABV Fründ (ISBN 978-3-939202-06-6).
• Mühlethaler, R., Holzinger, W.E., Nickel, H. Wachmann, E. (2018): Die Zikaden Deutschlands, Österreichs und der Schweiz: Entdecken – Beobachten – Bestimmen. Quelle & Meyer (ISBN 978-3-494-01648-1).

In addition, the study group participated in the preparation of the Red Lists of cicadas of Germany (Nickel et al. 2016) and Austria (Holzinger 2009), as well as numerous country lists.