Bug FAQEastern Scissors Grinder Cicada
Neotibicen winnemanna · Order: Hemiptera · Family: Cicadidae
Also called: Eastern Scissor Grinder, Saddled Scissor-Grinder, Southern Scissor Grinder
Male Eastern Scissors Grinder Cicadas make a rising, continuous pulsing call that is similar across three related species. They live in the eastern United States, mainly along the Appalachian range from southern New York down to northern Georgia and central Alabama, favoring upper branches of deciduous trees at dusk.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Males of this species produce a crescendo of continuous pulsation as their mating call, which is very similar to two other cicada species.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They usually call from the tops of deciduous trees, especially in the evening. They are not common in coastal maritime forests, though they may be found near inland waterways such as estuaries and bays.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
They are most often heard calling at dusk from the upper branches of deciduous trees.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its range stretches roughly along the Appalachians from southern New York to northern Georgia and central Alabama.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It looks a lot like Neotibicen pruinosus in the Midwest and Neotibicen latifasciatus on the coast, but can be told apart by its range and subtle wing features. It also resembles Neotibicen linnei, whose range overlaps; hybrids may share wing-costae bowing and longer opercula.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 18 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Mississippi, Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Alabama.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
How can I tell Eastern Scissors Grinder Cicada apart from similar species?
Check the location: this cicada is found in the eastern US Appalachians, while similar species occur more in the Midwest or coastal areas, and look for wing-costae shape and opercula length that may differ.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Cicadidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neotibicen_winnemanna
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.