Hoppers of North Carolina

Hoppers of North Carolina:
Spittlebugs, Leafhoppers, Treehoppers, and Planthoppers

Family (Alpha):

MEMBRACIDAE Members:	NC Records
Stictocephala stimulea - No Common Name

Taxonomy

Family: MEMBRACIDAE

Subfamily: Smiliinae

Tribe: Ceresini

Synonym: Ceresa stimulea

Taxonomic Author: Van D. Estero (Van Duzee)

Identification

Online Photographs: BugGuide, GBIF iNaturalist Google
Description: This species is brownish overall, typically a mixture of dark brown to blcakish and lighter brown, with long, prominent and recurved pronotal horns. There is a distinctive, pronounced curve to the pronotum. The horns have broad dark brown margins, contrasting with the rest of the body. Some individuals may have a fairly dark pronotal crest, and some individuals may have a partially green pronotum. The legs are also a dark brown color. Males are 7 to 8 mm long, while females are 8 to 9 mm (FSCA).

Distribution in North Carolina

County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.

Distribution: Southeastern United States, north to Maryland (FSCA)

Abundance: Uncommon to rare, scattered records across the state.

Seasonal Occurrence

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Has been found near mixed hardwood forest.

Plant Associates: Vitis prob. vulpina (CTNC); has also been found on Carya sp., Myrica cerifera, Prunus serotina, Quercus spp. (including Q. phellos), Solidago, and Smilax elsewhere (FSCA).

Behavior: To listen to the male courtship call for this genus, listen here. These courtship calls are not audible to the human ear, and the calls here are produced by recording the substrate vibrations that the treehoppers use to communicate through the plants themselves. The recorded call is then amplified so that it is now audible to human ears. Research has shown that treehoppers use vibrations to attract mates, to announce the discovery of a good feeding site, or to alert a defending mother to the approach of a predator (T.IM).

Comment: NOTE: Specimens of S. taurina, S. tauriniformis, S. palmeri, and S. brevitylus could be confused with S. stimulea, and therefore a species level ID may not always be possible for uniformly dark individuals. "True" S. stimulea are a mixture of brown and blackish coloration.

Status: Native

Global and State Rank:

Species Photo Gallery for Stictocephala stimulea No Common Name
	Photo by: Scott Bolick Guilford Co. Comment:	Photo by: Scott Bolick Guilford Co. Comment:
	Photo by: Scott Bolick Guilford Co. Comment:	Photo by: Mark Shields Onslow Co. Comment:
	Photo by: Mark Shields Onslow Co. Comment:	Photo by: FKW Gates Co. Comment: MEMI
	Photo by: F. Williams, S. Williams Gates Co. Comment: MEMI	Photo by: William Fisher Orange Co. Comment:
	Photo by: William Fisher Orange Co. Comment:	Photo by: Harry Wilson Wake Co. Comment:

Stictocephala stimulea - No Common Name

Species Photo Gallery for Stictocephala stimulea No Common Name