Category: Robert Metcalf

Megatibicen pronotalis walkeri Metcalf, 1955 aka Walker’s Cicada.

Photo by Roy Troutman in Batavia, Ohio.

See all Megatibicen pronotalis images and info on cicadamania.com.

There’s two sub-species of Megatibicen pronotalis: Megatibicen pronotalis pronotalis Davis — found in IA, MO, NE, ND, OK, SD — and Megatibicen pronotalis walkeri Metcalf — found in AL, AR, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MD, MI, MN, MS, MO, NE, NC, ND, OH, OK, SD, TN, TX, VA, WV, WI, and WY.

Song type: Call

Source: ©Insect Singers | Species: M. pronotalis walkeri

Video Playlist

Playlists contain multiple videos found on YouTube.

Name, Location and Description

• Cicada Name: Megatibicen pronotalis walkeri Metcalf, 1955
• Short Name: M. pronotalis walkeri
• Common Name: Walker’s Cicada
• Synonym/Former Name: Cicada marginata, Tibicen marginalis, Tibicen pronotalis walkeri
• When: August-October. Peaks in August.
• Where it is found: AL, AR, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MD, MI, MN, MS, MO, NE, NC, ND, OH, OK, SD, TN, TX, VA, WV, WI, WY
• Maps: Biogeography of the Cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) of North America, North of Mexico [PDF]
• Description: 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.
• Eye Color: gray
• Pronotal Collar Color: green or brown
• Identification: Bug Guide
• Identification: Bill Reynolds on iNaturalist
• Identification: iNaturalist
• Subject Matter Expert website: Cicada Central
• Taxonomic Information: Integrated Taxonomic Information System
• Song: Insect Singers

Key to Species by Wm. T. Davis from MISSISSIPPI CICADAS, WITH A KEY TO THE SPECIES OF THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES.¹

A. Large, heavy bodied species ; head broad, uncus simple, and first cross vein in the fore wings starting from radius 3 far back, or about one third distant from base of first marginal cell.

BB. Uncus broad at the base, triangular in shape and generally about as broad as long. Opercula broad and rounded at the extremities no definite black area on the central part of the abdomen beneath, usually unicolorus.

EE. Wings broad, hind margin of the pronotum or collar green or greenish and more than 2 mm. broad.

FF. Anal cells or membranes at base of fore and hind wings light orange, two prominent marks on the mesonotum resembling the Hebrew letter resh inverted.

Fore wings with the first and second cross veins but faintly or not at all clouded and the abdominal segments margined posteriorly with brown. In fresh specimens there is usually a median row of white spots on the dorsum of the abdomen, .marginalis (Walker).

A teneral (soft) and sclerotized (hard) Megatibicen pronotalis walkeri

Photo by Paul Krombholz.

Classification:

Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Cryptotympanini
Subtribe: Cryptotympanina
Genus: Megatibicen
Species: Megatibicen pronotalis
Sub-species: Megatibicen pronotalis walkeri Metcalf, 1955
Sub-species: Megatibicen pronotalis pronotalis Davis, 1938

List of sources

1. Davis, W.T. 1918. MISSISSIPPI CICADAS, WITH A KEY TO THE SPECIES OF THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES. Journal of the New York Entomological Society, Vol. XXVI, Nos. 3-4. Read it on archive.org.
2. Full Binomial Names: ITIS.gov
3. Common names: BugGuide.net; The Songs of Insects by Lang Elliott and Wil Herschberger; personal memory.
4. Locations: Biogeography of the Cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) of North America, North of Mexico by Allen F. Sanborn and Polly K. Phillips.
5. Descriptions, Colors: personal observations from specimens or photos from many sources. Descriptions are not perfect, but may be helpful.

Notes:

• Some descriptions are based on aged specimens which have lost some or a lot of their color.