I panicked the other day when Richard Fox’s excellent Tibicen anatomy page was down. I’m glad to say that it is back in service and that it is an incredible resource. Check it out if you want to learn more about a cicada’s parts.
August 28, 2006
August 26, 2006
“Bush Cicada” (Neotibicen dorsatus)
This excellent photo of a Neotibicen dorsatus (formerly T. dorsata) was taken in Oklahoma by Vic Fazio.
Variation in Neotibicen davisi
Paul Krombholz has discovered some interesting variations in the Tibicen davisi cicadas. I’m quoting Paul’s email in its entirety below.
Here is the composite photo showing variation in Tibicen davisi. The
additional one I wanted to add turned out not to be as dark as I thought,
but it has a different pattern. All these came from the trees in my
backyard in central Mississippi this season. Colors on the dorsal (top)
side vary from dark brown to green. Perhaps the most typical is the “olive”
one in the middle. On the ventral (bottom) side, the black abdominal stripe
varies from very wide to non-existent. Variation in the size of the black
abdominal stripe is not related to the color on the dorsal side, as I have
seen absolutely no abdominal stripe on both a greenish one and a very dark
brown one.Davis described a variety of T. davisi—T davisi var. hardeni—which has
little or no abdominal stripe. However, it also has darkening next to the
wing veins of the seven marginal cells as in T. superbus
(http://static.flickr.com/31/60751246_f60d00e2a9.jpg?v=0), While its upper
side is “less rusty” than the typical T. davisi, its underside is also
green. (Dr. Alan Sanborn, personal communication). Since my examples only
vary as to the “greenness” of the upper side and to the size of the
abdominal stripe, none of them fit completely the description of var.
hardeni. If anyone finds a T. davisi that meets the description of var.
hardeni, I think Dr. Sanborn would like to know about it.
August 21, 2006
Auletes IS the biggest USA cicada!
Cicada researcher Kathy Hill took this unbelievable photo of 18 different USA Neotibicen & Megatibicen specimens, plus a Quesada gigas (upper right) for comparison.
Click/tap the image for a much larger version. Contact Insect Singers for more information about the image.
I just took a photo of all the “eastern USA” Tibicens except
latifasciata, which we haven’t got yet (I didn’t include the “little
western” Tibicens like T. texana that are more centrally located
either). But I did also add T. duryi from the west coast and Q.
gigas, just for comparison.I just wanted to prove that auletes IS the biggest USA cicada 🙂
Note that the these cicadas were reorganized into two new genera: Megatibicen (larger USA Tibicen) and Neotibicen (smaller USA Tibicen) since this original announcement in 2006.
August 16, 2006
A Neotibicen shedding its skin
Here’s a great photo of a Neotibicen shedding its skin from Chris Millette.
Thought you might like to share my photo of a dog day cicada that I
made in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania last week.
May 31, 2006
Four new Roy Troutman Galleries!
We have four new Roy Troutman galleries of restored images from the 1980’s and early 1990’s!
NEW! Roy Troutman’s Cicada Photos. Assorted cicadas photos from the 1980s!
NEW! Roy Troutman’s Cicada Photos. Brood X photos from 1987 and 1988
NEW! Roy Troutman’s Cicada Photos. Brood XIV cicada photos from 1990-91
September 5, 2005
Mystery Cicada 2 is a Neotibicen dorsatus
Bill from Lincoln, Nebraska sent us this awesome photo of a cicada. I’ve never seen a cicada quite like this one. It’s as pretty as a butterfly. My guess is it belongs to the genus Diceroprocta, but I don’t know what species it is. Anyone know? If so, leave your guess in the comments section below.
Tim McNary wrote:
The cicada you pictured is either Tibicen dealbatus or Tibicen dorsatus. It’s kind of hard to tell from a picture. If you found it in trees in town, it is probably T. dealbatus. If you found in grassy sandhills and the pronotum in swollen in profile it is probably T. dorsatus. The characture that Davis uses, the shape of the uncus, is actually unreliable.
David and Gerry said it was a Tibicen dorsatus (formerly T. dorsata).
August 21, 2005
Louder than a lawnmower
Someone asked how loud Neotibicens were in terms of decibels. According to the University of Florida Book of Insect Records the Tibicen resh has a maximum sound pressure level of 107.2db, and the Tibicen pronotalis has a max SPL of 108.9db. Other species of Tibicen seem to max out around 80-100db.
Bonus unrelated link:
A French Canadian Tibicen page (thanks Roy).
August 14, 2005
A cicada and an leafhopper
Here’s a cute image for you: a cicada and its cousin, the leafhopper, in the same picture. If you look closely, you’ll see they look alike. Cicadas and leafhoppers belong to the same superfamily called Cicadoidea. Cicadas belong to the family Cicadidae, and leafhoppers belong to the family Cicadellidae.
August 12, 2005
Even more Tibicen photos and some cicada news stories
I’ve added some sweet Tibicen photos to my 2005 Tibicen gallery, including a 1300px version of this photo (perfect for desktop wallpaper).
