ENY 3005 Family Identification

Homoptera: Cicadoidea: Cicadidae

 Common names: cicadas, locusts

 Like the other three families in the superfamily Cicadoidea, the Cicadidae have:

• Antennae short and bristlelike, arising in front of or between the compound eyes.
• Tarsi 3-segmented.
• Middle coxae short and contiguous.
• No Y-vein in the anal area of the front wing.

Characters unique to the Cicadidae include:

• 3 ocelli (just 2 in other families).
• Front wings membranous (sometimes thickened in other families).
• Large size, most species being 1 to 2 inches in length.
• Males with sound-producing organs on underside of abdomen.

References:

• Pages 128-130 and plate 4 in D. J. Borror and R. E. White. 1970. A Field Guide to the Insects. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
• Page 160 in R. G. Bland and H. E. Jaques. 1978. How to Know the Insects, 3rd ed. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Co. 409 p.
• Page 322 in D. J. Borror, C. A. Triplehorn, and N. F. Johnson. 1989. An Introduction to the Study of Insects, 6th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders College Publishing. 875 p.
• Page 428 in H. V. Daly, J. T. Doyen, and A. H. Purcell III. 1998. Introduction to Insect Biology and Diversity, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press. 680 p.

Links to other web sites

• Cicada Mania
• Periodical Cicadas. (355K) -- A super site if you have a high-speed connection to the web.
• Periodical Cicada Emergence in Iowa in 1997
• Life Cycle of the Cicada Killer
• Cicadas of Florida - Lots of information on the 19 species of cicadas that occur in the Sunshine State
• Singing Insects of North America -- Identifying crickets, katydids, and cicadas by their songs.