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September 3, 2015

Big and Small: *tibicen exuvia

Filed under: Exuvia | Megatibicen | Neotibicen — Dan @ 5:34 am

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)).

July 29, 2015

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

Filed under: Megatibicen | Neotibicen — Tags: , , — Dan @ 8:32 pm

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.

August 24, 2014

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

July 30, 2013

Megatibicen auletes in Manchester, NJ

Filed under: Annette DeGiovine | Elias Bonaros | Megatibicen | Tibicen | Video — Tags: , , — Dan @ 8:44 pm

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.

September 4, 2011

Tibicen auletes from North Carolina

Filed under: Annual | Megatibicen | Tibicen — Tags: , — Dan @ 8:00 am

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.

July 28, 2010

Tibicen auletes aka Northern Dusk-singing Cicada

Filed under: Elias Bonaros | Megatibicen — Tags: — Dan @ 9:01 pm

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

August 26, 2009

Megatibicen auletes found by Elias Bonaros in New Jersey

Filed under: Elias Bonaros | Megatibicen | Tibicen — Tags: , — Dan @ 9:02 pm

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.

May 27, 2008

New galleries: Neocicada hieroglyphica, Diceroprocta olympusa and Megatibicen resonans

Filed under: Diceroprocta | Joe Green | Megatibicen | Neocicada — Tags: , — Dan @ 9:47 pm

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.

August 25, 2007

ID the Tibicen

Filed under: Megatibicen | Neotibicen | Tibicen — Tags: , , — Dan @ 10:18 am

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

August 12, 2007

Megatibicen pronotalis walkeri from Davenport, Iowa

Filed under: Megatibicen | Tibicen — Tags: — Dan @ 1:28 pm

Ben sent us these photos of a Megatibicen pronotalis walkeri (Walker’s Cicada) taken in Davenport, Iowa.

Iowa Tibicen

Iowa Tibicen

Note: the genus of this cicada has changed since 2007 (when this was originally posted) from Tibicen to Megatibicen.

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