Numbers
2 poorly differentiated subspecies have been described. There appears to be little if any difference in calling song and there is some overlapping phenotypic plasticity in both described subspecies.
Neocicada hieroglyphica ssp. hieroglyphica
Neocicada hieroglyphica ssp. johannis
Size
32 mm (head to tip of folded wings)
Identification
Quoting from
Cicadas of Florida:
Partial to oaks; first species to be heard in spring; song starts with a sequence of progressively softer whiney bursts and ends with an even whine.
Found in small colonies. Starts calling in morning and calls until dusk. Song is reported to sound like a model airplane warming up its engine.
Range
Southeastern United States: Kansas, Missouri, Louisiana, southern Maryland to Florida.
Neocicada hieroglyphica is a widely distributed species occurring across the eastern US from NJ south to FL - west across the Gulf states upper southeast & southern Mid-West, extending west into the eastern Plains south into e. Texas and n. Mexico (incl. two subspecies with rather poorly defined delineation in traits)