Quesada gigas is known from Texas (U.S.A.) (Sanborn & Phillips 2013). The genus Quesada, which includes just two species, has an extensive distribution in the New World extending from central Argentina to Texas. Quesada gigas the only representative of the tribe Hyantiini in North America north of Mexico. The remaining genera of the tribe are found in Central and South America.
Quesada gigas is the only Quesada species found in North America north of Mexico. This species may exhibit the greatest latitudinal gradient of any cicada. It appears to have a broad host range, which facilitates its use of a range of plant communities. In a single park in Brazil, the species was found to use members of 17 different families as hosts. In Argentina, Q. gigas has been found in the tropical cloud forests of the Yunga and tropical rainforests of the Paranense floristic provinces as well as in the temperate Chaco and Espinal floristic provinces. The species disappears in Argentina when potential host trees disappear from the floristic provinces. I
Quesada gigas are endothermic. Endothermy may help Q. gigas live in a greater variety of habitats. The species is associated with the vegetation of the southeastern coastal plain in Texas. The northern limit of the distribution extends to the grasslands in central Texas, similar to those found in Argentina.
(Sanborn & Phillips 2013 and references therein)
The giant cicada (Quesada gigas), also known as the chichara grande, coyoyo, or coyuyo, is a species of large cicada native to North, Central, and South America. One of two species in the genus Quesada, it is the widest ranging cicada in the Western Hemisphere.[1]
The giant cicada was discovered by Guillaume-Antoine Olivier in 1790. British naturalist Henry Walter Bates described the shrill songs of the cicadas during his exploration in the Amazon in the late 1840s.[2] There are historical records of the cicada in Bexar County, Texas starting in 1934, but this population died out - possibly due to the extended drought of the 1950s. Since 2005, the cicada population has grown and become widespread in central Texas. It currently ranges from central Texas to as far south as Mina Clavero, Argentina.[3]
The giant cicada is the second largest North American cicada.[4] Like other Texas species, the giant cicada has an appearance that camouflages it into its environment. The insects are usually a combination of black, green, and brown patterns, with brown eyes and brown to green pronotal collar color.[4] Texas cicadas distinguish themselves by sound, rather than appearance.[3]
The giant cicada is the only species of the genus Quesada found in North America. In the United States, it primarily resides in the south Texas brushlands, which extend from the southern border to approximately Austin, Texas. Further south, it has been observed in forest parks in Brazil, and in the tropical cloud forests and rain forests in Argentina. The cicada feeds off a wide variety of plant families. As an endothermic species, the giant cicada has the ability to live in a wide range of environments.[5]
Giant cicadas produce a remarkably distinct and loud sound, singing primarily at dusk, and less often at dawn in central Texas. It has been known to sing all day and occasionally through the night further south. Its loud, shrill song has been described as a siren or alarm, a whistle, or gas escaping a pressure release valve.[1] Although the giant cicada resides over a large area of land, there is almost no variation in its song throughout its range.[3]
Immature giant cicadas spend at least four years underground before emerging as adults. The cicadas feed on tree roots, typically Huisache or other members of the legume family. They usually emerge between April and October in south Texas, and from June to July in central Texas.[1]
The giant cicada (Quesada gigas), also known as the chichara grande, coyoyo, or coyuyo, is a species of large cicada native to North, Central, and South America. One of two species in the genus Quesada, it is the widest ranging cicada in the Western Hemisphere.
