The largest known cicada is the Megapomponia imperatoria (Westwood, 1842) of south-east Asia. The specimen in the photo below was captured in Malaysia and it’s wingspan measured 20 centimters/7.9 inches. Other species might be larger in terms of weight, but I’m not sure.
Photo of a Megapomponia imperatoria (formerly Pomponia imperatoria) by Michel Chantraine.
Other very large cicadas include the Bear Cicada of Japan (Cryptotympana facialis), and Tacua speciosa of south-east Asia.
Tacua speciosa from Malaysia by anonymous photographer.
The largest cicada in North America is the Megatibicen auletes:
Northern Dusk-Singing Cicadas aka Megatibicen auletes. Photo by me.
These very large cicadas are loud, but not the loudest. Learn about loud cicadas.
5 replies on “What is the largest cicada?”
this looks so fake
Tacua? Yep, it looks like a 4-color plastic toy, but it’s still real… maybe the most unusual cicada…
How do you figure? The angle makes it look bigger but still, its real for sure
I have looked and looked….how big are the NYS cicadas
NYS? New York State? The latest cicada found in New York (Long Island) is Megatibicen auletes (Germar, 1834) aka Northern Dusk Singing Cicada