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Photo#238041
Dog-Day Cicada - Neotibicen canicularis

Dog-Day Cicada - Neotibicen canicularis
Portage, Kalamazoo County, Michigan, USA
August 12, 2008
Size: 80mm
Landed on my gazebo last summer.

Tibicen canicularis
I moved this images for the following reasons:
1) consensus among several other cicada specialists
2) basic diagnostics that are in support of canicularis over linnei, incl. color, pattern, and morphometrics (wing bisection test performed by G.B.)

I shared this images with several people and received feedback from Gerry and Elias, both of whom agree this cicada is most likely T. canicularis.

Gerry states, "I believe this one to be canicularis. It fails the line bisection test for linnei of Michigan and does not exhibit the colors of linnei. It does however exhibit the very light patterns of pruinosity on the lateral portions of the tergites indicative of canicularis."

 
Wow
Sorry everyone for the super late response on this one. I must have hit "unsubscribe" at some point. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Tibicen canicularis
The dark overtones to the mesonotum and dark pronotal color make this specimen more likely T. canicularis.

Tibicen canicularis
I am finding increasingly that there are several characters that do not hold well from locality to locality. Among these characters are wing lengths based on node position and bowing in the costae (main wing veins).

As much as I argue the "Line Bisection Test" when applied to cicada species here in the Southeast, it does seem to hold "TRUEST" in the Midwest, incl. Michigan (but not ABSOLUTE!).

First, we must make sure that we have a "flat angle" of the wing - either perfect lateral or spread (as here in this image). Since this insect has wings spread (~flat), we have a good case where we can actually apply the wing bisection test...and the point of bisection is posterior to the coalescence of the Costal, "C" and the Subcostal, "SC"....Therefore, this is unlikely T. linnei and more likely T. canicularis.

I firmly believe more work is needed to untangle geographic variation for several species, esp. since we see break downs in characteristics between and among populations of the same species and those used to differentiate related species.

Tibicen linnei
The shape of the front wings (straight-edged for more than half the length) is distinctive.

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