Sphecius speciosus, often simply referred to as the cicada killer or the cicada hawk, is a large digger wasp species. Cicada killers are large, solitary wasps in the family Crabronidae. The name may be applied to any species of crabronid which preys on cicadas, though in North America it is typically applied to a single species, S. speciosus. However, since there are multiple species of related wasps, it is more appropriate to call it the eastern cicada killer. This species occurs in the eastern and midwest U.S. and southwards into Mexico and Central America including Louisiana. They are so named because they hunt cicadas and provision their nests with them. In North America they are sometimes called sand hornets, although they are not hornets, which belong to the family Vespidae. Cicada killers exert a measure of natural control on cicada populations and thus may directly benefit the deciduous trees upon which their cicada prey feed.
Cicadas of the genus Neotibicen are large-bodied insects of the family Cicadidae that appear in summer or early fall in eastern North America. Common names include cicada, harvestfly, jar fly, and the misnomer locust. Until recently, these species were all in the genus Tibicen, which was redefined in the twenty-first century to include only a few European species, while species from the Western United States and Mexico are now placed in a separate genus, Hadoa. In addition, several former Neotibicen species have been moved to the genus Megatibicen.
The Tettigarctidae, known as the hairy cicadas, are a small relict family of primitive cicadas. Along with more than 20 extinct genera, Tettigarctidae contains a single extant genus, Tettigarcta, with two extant species, one from southern Australia and one from the island of Tasmania. Fossil taxa include Paratettigarcta from the Miocene of New Zealand, Meuniera from the Paleocene of France, and Sanmai from the Late Jurassic of China.Tettigarcta are the closest living relatives of the true cicadas.
Kikihia is a genus of cicada in the family Cicadidae. Most species contained in the genus are endemic to New Zealand, with a single Australian species found on Norfolk Island. The genus was established in 1972 by John S. Dugdale with eleven species formerly classed within the genus Cicadetta.
Thopha saccata, commonly known as the double drummer, is the largest Australian species of cicada and reputedly the loudest insect in the world. Documented by the Danish zoologist Johan Christian Fabricius in 1803, it was the first described and named cicada native to Australia. Its common name comes from the large dark red-brown sac-like pockets that the adult male has on each side of its abdomen—the "double drums"—that are used to amplify the sound it produces.
Aleeta curvicosta is a species of cicada, one of Australia's most familiar insects. Native to the continent's eastern coastline, it was described in 1834 by Ernst Friedrich Germar. As of 2014 the floury baker is the only described species in the genus Aleeta.
Psaltoda plaga is a species of cicada native to eastern Australia, from Maryborough in central Queensland to Bega in southern New South Wales. Adult cicadas appear over the summer and inhabit forested areas near bodies of water. The predominantly black form from the Sydney and Central Coast regions is commonly known as the black prince, while the term silver knight is used for the species as a whole.
The Australian cicada killer wasp, Exeirus lateritius, the sole member of the genus Exeirus, is a large, solitary, ground-dwelling, predatory wasp. It is related to the more common genus of cicada killers, Sphecius. In Australia, E. lateritius hunts over 200 species of cicada.
Abricta is a genus of cicada found in Réunion, Mauritius, northeastern India, the Moluccas, New Caledonia and eastern Australia. They make a distinctive hissing sound when calling. Adult members of the genus usually face downwards on tree branches, and lay their eggs in living tissue. The genus was originally described by Carl Stål. The type species is Abricta brunnea from Mauritius and Reunion. However, recent review of the genus has shown it to be a disparate group of species, and the Australian members moved to other genera. S.M. Moulds conducted a morphological analysis of the genus and found the cicadas split naturally into clades according to biogeographical region. Of the 15 Australian species, the floury baker was the earliest offshoot. Unpublished data confirmed it was quite genetically distant from the other 14 species and so it was classified in a new monotypic genus Aleeta, while the others were placed in the genus Tryella.
Aleeta is a monotypic genus of cicada, containing A. curvicosta, found in Australia. Ernst Friedrich Germar originally described the species as C. curvicosta in 1834. In 2003, Maxwell Sydney Moulds proposed Aleeta as a separate, unispecific genus.
Tryella is a genus of 14 species of cicada found in Australia and New Guinea. For many years, the members were classified in the genus Abricta. However, recent review of the genus has shown it to be a disparate group of species, and the Australian members moved to other genera. S.M. Moulds conducted a morphological analysis of the genus and found the cicadas split naturally into clades according to biogeographical region. Of the 15 Australian species, the floury baker was the earliest offshoot. Unpublished data confirmed it was quite genetically distant from the other 14 species and so it was classified in a new monotypic genus Aleeta, while the others were placed in the genus Tryella. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek tryelis "ladle" and relates to the ladle-shaped uncal lobes of the species in the genus.
Arunta perulata is a large cicada native to Australia. It is also known as the white drummer cicada. The name floury baker was previously applied to this species, but that name is now specific to Aleeta curvicosta.
Thopha is a genus of cicada native to Australia. Five species are recognised, the double drummer, the northern double drummer, the golden drummer, T. emmotti and T. hutchinsoni. Within sessiliba, two subspecies are recognized, the nominotypical form and T. sessiliba clamoris Moulds and Hill.
Diemeniana is a genus of cicada in the cicadettini tribe of the Cicadinae subfamily native to Australia. Five species have been described.
Cystosoma is a genus of cicada in of the Cicadinae subfamily native to Australia. Two species have been described.
Henicopsaltria is a genus of cicada in the cryptotympanini tribe of the Cicadinae subfamily. Four species have been described. The razorgrinder is the type species.
