Megatibicen grossus aka Northern Dusk Singing Cicada formerly Megatibicen auletes

Megatibicen grossus (Fabricius, 1775) aka Northern Dusk Singing Cicada. It’s the biggest cicada in North America!

FYI, the name of this cicada is changing to Megatibicen grossus (Fabricius, 1775). See: Sanborn, A.F. (2023) Resolving taxonomic issues of cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) including new combinations, new synonymies, and revised status, with updates on the diversity of the Brazilian cicada fauna and new records for four South American countries. Zootaxa, VOL. 5318 NO. 3: 20 JUL. 2023, 339-362. DOI: 10.11646/ZOOTAXA.5318.3.2

See all Megatibicen auletes photos and information on cicadamania.com (there is a lot)!

Song type: Call

Source: ©Insect Singers | Species: M. auletes

Video

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Name, Location and Description

• Cicada Name: Megatibicen auletes (Germar, 1834)
• Short Name: M. grossus
• Common Name: Northern Dusk Singing Cicada
• Synonym/Former Name: Tibicen auletes, Megatibicen auletes
• When: July-September. Peaks in August.
• Where it is found: AL, AR, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MD, MA, MI, MS, MO, NE, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV, WI
• Maps: Biogeography of the Cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) of North America, North of Mexico [PDF]
• Description: The largest North American cicada. Olive green to rusty brown with black, tan and white coloring. Heavy white pruinosis. M on mesonotum typically partially ocluded by pruinosis. Sings at dusk.
• Eye Color: gray / beige
• Pronotal Collar Color: olive or rusty brown
• Identification: Bug Guide
• Identification: iNaturalist
• Identification: Bill Reynolds on iNaturalist
• Subject Matter Expert website: Cicada Central
• Image: Insect Images
• Taxonomic Information: Integrated Taxonomic Information System
• Song: Insect Singers

Song and morphological descriptions by Wm. T. Davis from MISSISSIPPI CICADAS, WITH A KEY TO THE SPECIES OF THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES¹

Its song is monotonous in tone and not loud, considering the size
of the insect. It often commences to sing late in the afternoon and continues off and on until dark.

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.

F. Anal cells or membranes at base of fore and hind wings gray. Dorsal segments of the abdomen not margined with brown ; in fresh specimens the basal segments pruinose, also the terminal segments, leaving the four middle segments black. A large species expanding over 110 mm.

A comparison of teneral (soft) and sclerotized (hard) M. auletes

Photo by Paul Krombholz.

Classification:

Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Cryptotympanini
Subtribe: Cryptotympanina
Genus: Megatibicen
Species: Megatibicen auletes (Germar, 1834)

List of sources

1. Davis, W.T. 1919. 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 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.