Hoppers of North Carolina

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

Family (Alpha):

ISSIDAE Members:	NC Records
Thionia elliptica - No Common Name

Taxonomy

Family: ISSIDAE

Subfamily: Issinae

Identification

Online Photographs: BugGuide, GBIF iNaturalist
Description: This species varies in color from grayish to brown but is generally yellowish or greenish-tan with brown speckling. It has a characteristic vertex (top of the head) that is concave from the frontal view, with the lateral margins flared prominently, and from the dorsal view, the vertex is wider than long (BG). See here for a nice depiction of the noticeably wider than long vertex. Nymphs are light brown to black in color, heavily marked with cream spots, and have red eyes. See W & W 1987 for more information and drawings of the nymphs of T. elliptica. (BG)

Distribution in North Carolina

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

Distribution: Eastern and central United States, north into Ontario (UDEL)

Abundance: Uncommon to rare, only one recent record from the Piedmont.

Seasonal Occurrence

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

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Mixed hardwood forest, where oaks are present.

Plant Associates: Quercus ilicifolia (bear oak, Fagaceae), Q. marilandica (blackjack oak) (UDEL); nymphs have also been found on red maple and Nyssa sylvatica (tupelo, black gum).

Behavior:

Comment: This species can be most similar to Thionia bullata. See that species page for info on how to identify T. bullata. Charles Bartlett notes "elliptica has a much shorter vertex (described as wider than long) and bullata is slightly longer than wide; also in frontal view elliptica has the lateral margins of the vertex keeled, whereas in frontal view bullata is essentially flat. Elliptica is also more robust than bullata." (BG)

Status: Native

Global and State Rank:

Thionia elliptica - No Common Name

Species Photo Gallery for Thionia elliptica No Common Name

Species Photo Gallery for Thionia elliptica No Common Name
	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Watauga Co. Comment:	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Watauga Co. Comment:
	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Watauga Co. Comment:	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Watauga Co. Comment:
	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Watauga Co. Comment: unid_planthopper	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Watauga Co. Comment: unid_planthopper
	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Watauga Co. Comment: unid_planthopper	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Watauga Co. Comment: unid_planthopper
	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Watauga Co. Comment: unid_planthopper	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Watauga Co. Comment: unid_planthopper
	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Watauga Co. Comment: unid_planthopper	Photo by: B bockhahn Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Photo by: B bockhahn Buncombe Co. Comment:	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Watauga Co. Comment: unid_planthopper
	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Watauga Co. Comment: unid_planthopper	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Watauga Co. Comment: unid_planthopper
	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Watauga Co. Comment: unid_planthopper	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Watauga Co. Comment: unid_planthopper
	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Watauga Co. Comment: unid_treehopper	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Watauga Co. Comment: unid_treehopper
	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Watauga Co. Comment: unid_treehopper	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Watauga Co. Comment: unid_treehopper
	Photo by: Scott Bolick Guilford Co. Comment:	Photo by: Scott Bolick Guilford Co. Comment:
	Photo by: Scott Bolick Guilford Co. Comment:	Photo by: Scott Bolick Guilford Co. Comment:
	Photo by: Scott Bolick Guilford Co. Comment:	Photo by: Scott Bolick Guilford Co. Comment:
	Photo by: Scott Bolick Guilford Co. Comment:	Photo by: Scott Bolick Alleghany Co. Comment:
	Photo by: Scott Bolick Guilford Co. Comment:	Photo by: Rob Van Epps Mecklenburg Co. Comment: Suburban yard near woods
	Photo by: Rob Van Epps Mecklenburg Co. Comment: Suburban yard near woods	Photo by: Rob Van Epps Mecklenburg Co. Comment: Suburban yard near woods
	Photo by: Scott Bolick Wilkes Co. Comment:	Photo by: Scott Bolick Wilkes Co. Comment:
	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Brian Bockhahn Stokes Co. Comment: found on red maple	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Brian Bockhahn Stokes Co. Comment: found on red maple
	Photo by: Paul Scharf Warren Co. Comment: Caught sweeping	Photo by: Paul Scharf Warren Co. Comment: Caught sweeping