Category: Megatibicen

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Megatibicen Tacuini (Cryptotympanini)

The Large Megatibicen (formerly Neotibicen)

Note: in the past few years, larger members if the Megatibicen genus were moved into MegatibiceM.

The physically larger Megatibicen (formerly Megatibicen) are closely genetically related 1, as well as being physically larger. BugGude.net breaks this group into three categories: “the auletes group” (M. auletes, M. resh, M. resonans, M. figuratus), “the pronotalis group” (M. dealbatus, M. pronotalis, M. cultriformis) and “the dorsatus group” (M. dorsatus, M. tremulus)2.

Tibicens of the Eastern USA
Large Megatibicen cicadas are arranged along the top row in this photo by cicada researcher Kathy Hill. Note the “T.” in their names stands for the older genus name “Tibicen”.

Let’s compare them based on their visual and audio characteristics.

4 Megatibicen
Photo credits l to r: Paul Krombholz, me (from Bill Reynolds’ collection), Paul Krombholz, Joe GreeM.

Click the names of the cicadas to listen to their songs, find their geographic range, and to see more images and video.

Cicada Sounds Like Looks Like Notes
Megatibicen grossus
aka Northern Dusk Singing Cicada formerly M. auletes		 M. resh, M. resonans, M. figuratus Largest Megatibicen; olive to tan, brown, black & white pruinosity. No distinct markings. Sings at dusk.
Megatibicen resh (Haldeman, 1852)
aka Resh Cicada		 M. auletes, M. resonans, M. figuratus Smaller green Megatibicen Distinctive resh (ר) markings on mesontum. Its call is like a sped-up, shorter version of M. auletes’ call.
Megatibicen resonans (Walker, 1850)
aka Southern Resonant/Great Pine Barrens Cicada		 M. auletes, M. resh, M. figuratus M. figuratus Brown, black & white pruinosity distinctively present within curves of the cruciform elevation Its call is like a bland version of the M. resh call.
Megatibicen figuratus (Walker, 1858)
aka Fall Southeastern Dusk-singing Cicada		 M. auletes, M. resh, M. resonans M. resonans Brown, black & with pruinosity. Its call has more character than M. figuratus, but is not as sonically impressive as M. auletes.

pronotalis dealbatus dorstus

Photo credits l to r: Roy Troutman, me (from Bill Reynolds’ collection), Bill Lesar.

Cicada Sounds Like Looks Like Notes
Megatibicen dealbatus (Davis, 1915) M. pronotalis walkeri, M. pronotalis pronotalis Orange form looks like M. dorsatus & tremulus, but “stripes” on abdomen of dealbatus are unique. Primarily either orange/rust or pea green, brown, black with heavy pruninosity which forms distinct markings on dorsal side of body. Dorsal side has two black stripes framed by three areas of pruinosity.
Megatibicen pronotalis pronotalis Davis, 1938 M. dealbatus, M. pronotalis walkeri M. pronotalis walkeri Tan or pea green, brown, black, and sometimes white pruinose. Wing color matches dominant color of body. Often features a black marking on pronotum3.
Megatibicen pronotalis walkeri Metcalf, 1955
aka Walker’s Cicada		 M. dealbatus, M. pronotalis pronotalis M. pronotalis pronotalis Tan or pea green, brown, black, and sometimes white pruinose. Wing color matches dominant color of body. Typically lacks a black marking on its pronotum.
Megatibicen cultriformis (Davis, 1915)
aka Grand Western Flood Plain Cicada		 Orange/rust, black & pruinosity on head & body. Wings are green! Found only in Arizona and New Mexico.
Megatibicen dorsatus (Say, 1825)
aka Bush Cicada or Grand Western or Giant Grassland Cicada		 M. tremulus M. tremulus, the Orange form of M. dealbatus (although tremulus lacks pruinose “stripes”) Rust/orange, black & white pruinosity, which forms distinct markings, such as a line of white dots down the dorsal side of the abdomeM.
Megatibicen tremulus Cole, 2008
aka Bush Cicada		 M. dorsatus M. dorsatus, the Orange form of M. dealbatus (although tremulus lacks pruinose “stripes”). Rust/orange, black & white pruinosity, which forms distinct markings, such as a line of white dots down the dorsal side of the abdomeM. The pitch of the tremulus’ call is different than dorsatus, which is one way to tell them apart.

I will update this page over time to clarify & improve the information. I hope it helps.

1 Molecular phylogenetics, diversification, and systematics of Tibicen Latreille 1825 and allied cicadas of the tribe Cryptotympanini, with three new genera and emphasis on species from the USA and Canada (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadidae) by Kathy B. R. Hill, David C. Marshall, Maxwell S. Moulds & Chris Simon. 2015, Zootaxa 3985 (2): 219—251. Link to PDF.

2 Species Megatibicen auletes http://bugguide.net/node/view/6968.

3 Cicadas of the United States and Canada
East of the 100th Meridian http://insectsingers.com/100th_meridian_cicadas/index.html.

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Exuvia Megatibicen Neotibicen

Big and Small: *tibicen exuvia

Big and Small

A photo of a Megatibicen auletes compared to a smaller Neotibicen exuvia (I believe it is an N. canicularis based on the time of year and location (mid-New Jersey)).

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Megatibicen Neotibicen

Megatibicen grossus (formerly Neotibicen auletes) in Manchester, New Jersey

Tonight I went to Manchester, New Jersey to look and listen for Neotibicen auletes aka the Northern Dusk-Singing cicada. As the name suggests, these cicadas sing at dusk (basically right at sunset). They are also the largest cicadas in North America.

I heard many auletes, found some nymphal skins, and one dead adult. Unfortunately I found no live specimens to film or video. Next time.

auletes

* Note as of 2023 the name of this cicada has changed to Megatibicen grossus. You can also call it a Northern Dusk-Signing Cicada.

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Megatibicen Neotibicen Paul Krombholz Teneral

It is possible to identify Tibicen just after they have molted

Paul Krombholz has come through with an awesome guide to identifying Tibicens just after they have molted. Click the image below for an even larger version. Note that the genus of these cicadas has changed to either Megatibicen or Neotibicen — notes below.

Paul Krombholz's image of recently molted and adult cicadas compared

Notes on the species from Paul:

N. pruinosus [formerly T. pruinosa]—Newly molted adult has darker mesonotum (top of mesothorax) than the very common T. chloromera. Abdomen is a golden orange color. Older adult has dark olive on lateral sides of mesonotum, lighter green below the “arches”.

M. pronotalis (formerly walkeri, marginalis)—Quite large. The reddish brown color can be seen on the mesonotum of newly molted adult. Older adult has solid green pronotum (top of prothorax) and red-brown markings on sides of mesonotum. Below the “arches” the mesonotum color can range from carmel to green. Head is black between the eyes.

N. tibicen [T. chloromerus, T. chloromera]—has large, swollen mesonotum, quite pale in a newly molted adult and almost entirely black in an older adult. Individuals from east coast can have large russet patches on sides of mesonotum. The white, lateral :”hip patches” on the anteriormost abdominal segment are always present, but the midline white area seen in my picture is sometimes absent.

N. davisi—Small. This is a variable species, but all have an oversized head that is strongly curved, giving it a ‘hammerhead’ appearance. Newly molted individuals are usually brown with blueish wing veins that will become brown, but some have more green in wing veins. Some may have pale mesonotums that will become mostly black. Older adults vary from brownish to olive to green markings on pronotum and mesonotum.

M. figuratus [formerly T. figurata]—a largish entirely brown cicada. Newly molted adult has a pink-brown coloration with some blueish hints. Older adult has chestnut-brown markings and no green anywhere. The Head is not very wide in relation to the rest of the body. The small cell at the base of the forewing is black.

M. auletes—a large, wide-bodied cicada. The newly molted adult is very green, but the older adult loses most of the green, usually retaining an olive posterior flange of the pronotum. The dorsal abdomen of the adult has a lot of powdery white on the anterior and posterior segments with a darker band in between.

From my own photos, here’s a sequence of photos of a Neotibicen tibicen tibicen as its colors develop.
Teneral Neotibicen tibicen

Here’s a comparison of two teneral Neotibicen linnei. Note the variation in colors — one green, one pink — from the same grove of trees in New Jersey. Color can vary a lot!
Linnei

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Annette DeGiovine Elias Bonaros Megatibicen Tibicen Video

Megatibicen auletes in Manchester, NJ

Last night I went on an exploration of Manchester, NJ looking for Megatibicen auletes (Germar, 1834) with Elias Bonaros and his friend Annette.

M. auletes, are known as the Northern Dusk Singing Cicada. As their name suggests, M. auletes calls at dusk, around sunset. Their call is amazing – visit Insect Singers to hear their call.

Luckily I found a (deceased) female and an exuvia (nymph skin). Elias and Annette found many exuvia and a live nymph. We were able to watch the nymph undergo ecdysis (leave its exuvia, and expand its adult body).

Here are some images of the cicadas we found last night (click the first two images to get to larger versions):

Neotibicen auletes nymph

Ventral view. Neotibicen auletes female Manchester NJ

Dorsal view. Neotibicen auletes female Manchester NJ

Neotibicen auletes female Manchester NJ

Some (blurry) video:

Dan and Elias netting a M. auletes exuvia. Photo by Annette DeGiovine-Oliveira:

Dan and Elias netting a T. auletes exuvia. Photo by Annette DeGiovine-Oliveira:

* Note as of 2023 the name of this cicada has changed to Megatibicen grossus. You can also call it a Northern Dusk-Signing Cicada.

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Annual Megatibicen Tibicen

Tibicen auletes from North Carolina

Here’s a Tibicen auletes found in Winston-Salem, North Carolina by my friend Erin Dickinson. The T. auletes is also known as Northern Dusk Singing cicada. It can be found in most Southern states, IL, IN, MI, OH, MD, DE, NJ and CT.

The Tibicen auletes is the largest species of the Tibicen cicadas (largest in terms of physical size). Visit Insect Singers to hear its song.

Neotibicen auletes found in Winston-Salem, NC by Erin Dickinson. 2011.

View both Tibicen auletes photos.

* Note as of 2023 the name of this cicada has changed to Megatibicen grossus. You can also call it a Northern Dusk-Signing Cicada.

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Elias Bonaros Megatibicen

Tibicen auletes aka Northern Dusk-singing Cicada

New Tibicen auletes photos from Elias Bonaros.

The Tibicen auletes aka Northern Dusk-singing Cicada is the largest of the Tibicen cicadas in the U.S.A.

Auletes by Elias

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Elias Bonaros Megatibicen Tibicen

Megatibicen auletes found by Elias Bonaros in New Jersey

You might know Elias from his posts on the Message Board. Monday, after a lot of searching, he found a female Tibicen auletes in Lakewood New Jersey.

I was down in Lakewood NJ yesterday and after finding 5 more additional huge exuvia, the unthinkable happened. a female T. auletes flew to a light, hit the pole after circling many times and slid down to the ground. I easily captured her on the ground. Wanted to share this picture. look how beautiful she is with all that pruinosity!

Tibicen auletes are the largest of the North American Tibicen species. Their bodies a a little under 2″ long. Auletes are also know as the Sissor-Grinder, Northern Dusk-singing Cicada, or Great Dusk-calling Cicada. Read more at Bug Guide. The Songs of Insects site has sound files so you can listen and hear if you have auletes in your yard too.

Here’s Elias’ photos:

Elias Bonaros, Lakewood NJ, Megatibicen auletes

* Note as of 2023 the name of this cicada has changed to Megatibicen grossus. You can also call it a Northern Dusk-Signing Cicada.

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Diceroprocta Joe Green Megatibicen Neocicada

New galleries: Neocicada hieroglyphica, Diceroprocta olympusa and Megatibicen resonans

Thanks to Cicada Mania friend Joe Green we now have 3 new cicada galleries featuring cicadas we didn’t have before one the site: Neocicada hieroglyphica, Diceroprocta olympusa and Megatibicen resonans.

This is a Neocicada hieroglyphica:
Neocicada hieroglyphica by Joe Green, 2007

Hang in there, we’ll be back to the 17 Year Cicadas tomorrow.

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Megatibicen Neotibicen Tibicen

ID the Tibicen

Brian Baldwin sent over some cicada photos for an ID. Here’s my guesses (below). If you have a more accurate guess, post it in the Comments.

Megatibicen dorsatus (formerly T. dorsata):

Megatibicen dorsatus by Brian Baldwin

At first I thought T. walkeri, but now I’m leaning towards Brain’s guess of N. superbus. This would be the first superbus with a brown mesonotum that I’ve ever seen.:

Brian Baldwin's Neotibicen superbus

Megatibicen dealbatus (formerly dealbata):

Megatibicen dealbatus by Brian Baldwin