Giant Cicada

Belongs to one of the largest and most conspicuous hemipteran insect groups in the Neotropical region, representing the species Quesada gigas. It is characterized by an impressive wingspan that can reach between 110 and 120 millimeters, while its body length typically ranges from 35 to 45 millimeters. Its coloration displays a highly effective cryptic pattern, combining shades of brown, ochre, olive green, and black, allowing the insect to blend seamlessly against tree bark. The head is broad, featuring prominent compound eyes and three small ocelli arranged in a triangle. The forewings and hindwings are entirely membranous and transparent, with pronounced venation that transitions from green to brown near the base. Males are equipped with highly specialized sound-producing organs called timbals, located at the base of the abdomen and protected by large opercula.

Geographical distribution: Occurs widely across the American continent, ranging from the southern region of the United States (particularly in Texas), through the entirety of Mexico, across Central America (including nations such as Guatemala, Honduras, and Costa Rica), and extending deep into South America, with stable biological records in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, and highly abundant populations throughout Brazil.

Habitat: Prefers a diverse array of forested ecosystems, ranging from tropical dry forests and dense rainforests to scrubby savanna biomes such as the South American Cerrado. Additionally, it has shown a remarkable capacity for synanthropes, successfully colonizing urban parks, commercial forestry plantations, orchards, and metropolitan green areas, provided there are mature, large woody trees to sustain its complex life cycle.

Feeding: Exhibits a strictly phytophagous and sap-sucking diet throughout all active phases of its life cycle. Adults utilize their robust, piercing-sucking mouthparts, or rostrum, to penetrate the bark of tree trunks and branches to feed on the phloem and xylem sap of vascular plants, showing a marked preference for host trees within the Fabaceae family. Conversely, the underground nymphs feed exclusively on xylem sap extracted from the deep roots of host plants, utilizing their specialized, fossorial forelegs to dig through the soil and locate these subterranean nourishment sources.

Behavior: Is renowned for generating one of the loudest acoustic signals in the entire insect world. Males produce a piercing, continuous song that can exceed 100 decibels, used primarily to attract females and establish territorial dominance. This acoustic activity peaks during the crepuscular hours and on the warmest days of late dry season or early rainy season. It is a strictly arboreal organism, remaining motionless on tree trunks during periods of low thermal activity. When startled, it executes a rapid, erratic, and loud flight to escape avian predators or parasitoid wasps.

Reproduction: Begins its developmental cycle when the fertilized female uses her powerful, saw-like ovipositor to make deep incisions in the bark of tender twigs, where she deposits rows of elongated, whitish eggs. Upon hatching, the minute nymphs drop to the ground and immediately burrow into the soil, reaching depths of 30 to 100 centimeters. This subterranean nymphal stage lasts between two and four years, during which they undergo several instars. Once fully developed, they emerge synchronously from the ground during the initial rains of the season, climb vertical tree trunks, and undergo their final molt, leaving behind a characteristic exuviae to emerge as winged adults with a lifespan of only a few weeks dedicated entirely to mating.

Conservation status: Has not been officially assessed by the IUCN Red List (Not Evaluated - NE). However, due to its massive geographical distribution and its high adaptability to human-altered landscapes, it is not considered under any immediate threat of extinction. The primary local threats to wild populations are severe deforestation, the conversion of natural habitats for intensive agriculture, and the indiscriminate use of chemical insecticides and pesticides in both urban and agricultural zones, which can impact both the canopy-dwelling adults and the subterranean nymphs.