Tibicen linnei (Smith & Grossbeck)

Sanborn, Allen F., Phillips, Polly K. & Gilllis, Philip, 2008, The Cicadas of Florida (Hemiptera: Cicadoidea: Cicadidae), Zootaxa 1916, pp. 1-43 : 9

Tibicen linnei (Smith & Grossbeck) (Figs. 61–70)

Cicada linnei Smith & Grossbeck nom. nov. pro Cicada tibicen Fabricius [1794] [nec Cicada tibicen Linné 1758 ], Smith & Grossbeck 1907: 127. Type locality: several localities in New York and New Jersey are provided in the original description of the co-types. Sanborn (1999) designated a lectotype male from West Farms, Bronx County, New York which becomes the type locality.

Adults first emerge in mid-May and can be heard singing until early October. The most common collection dates are in July and August. The song lasts 20–50 sec and is described as exhibiting a vibrato due to amplitude modulations of the call produced at a rate of 5–10 sec -1 and a peak frequency of about 7 kHz ( Alexander 1956; Moore 1966; Alexander et al. 1972; Elliott and Hershberger 2006). It has been described as a short duration, continuous “z-ing”( Davis 1918; Lawson 1920) or “zeger, zeger, zeger” ( Davis 1922, 1926). The song is similar to that of T. tibicen but longer and the vibrato is produced at a slower rate in T. linnei ( Moore 1966; personal observation). A sonagram of the call can be found in Alexander (1956; 1960) and Elliott and Hershberger (2006). The species is associated with trees ( Beamer 1928; Moore 1966; Alexander et al. 1972; personal observation) including slippery elm ( Ulmus fulva Muhl. ) ( Jacobs 1954).

The distributional data for T. linnei is limited (Fig. 70) but the species occurs through much of the forested area of the northern and central regions of the state. It inhabits several divisions of the Southern Coastal Plains ecoregions. The species is found over most of the eastern U.S. but has only been collected in Alachua, Bay, Hernando, Leon, Liberty, and Orange counties in Florida.