Hoppers of North Carolina:
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CICADELLIDAE Members: NC Records

Driotura gammaroides - No Common Name


© Kyle Kittelberger- side view
© Kyle Kittelberger- top view
© Rob Van Epps- var. fulva
© Kyle Kittelberger- color variation
Taxonomy
Family: CICADELLIDAESubfamily: DeltocephalinaeTribe: Chiasmini
Taxonomic Author: (Van Duzee, 1894)
Identification
Online Photographs: BugGuide, GBIF  iNaturalist                                                                                  
Description: A species with a robust, short head and a shining black coloration. Adults are brachypterous, meaning they have short wings. The pronotum and abdomen are also short (abdomen is inflated in females), with the pronotum being three times as wide as long. Rarely does this species have macropterous, long-winged adults. The eyes are black with silver-speckles, and the legs are orange with dark feet. The female pregenital sternite is broadly and convexly rounded. The male subgenital plates have the outer margins convexly rounded to bluntly-tipped apices. Adults are 3 to 4 mm long. (Lawson, 1920), (DeLong, 1948)

There is a uniformly reddish-brown form with the last segment of the abdomen and ovipositor dark, and the eyes and ocelli dark too. This form is known as D. gammaroidea var. fulva and primarily occurs in the western and central U.S. (Lawson, 1920) It is known from Tennessee though and could therefore turn up in North Carolina (3i).

Another form, D. gammaroidea var. flava, has been collected in North Carolina. This form has a black vertex, pronotum and basal section of the abdomen, but the wings and final two or three segments of the abdomen are yellow (DeLong, 1948).

Distribution in North Carolina
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Distribution: An uncommon species found widely across much of North America (3i).
Abundance: Infrequently encountered, rare- recorded from a few counties in the Piedmont; possibly more abundant in the right habitat.
Seasonal Occurrence
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Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Recorded in field/forest edge habitat.
Plant Associates: Grindelia ssp. (Lawson, 1920)
Behavior:
Comment:
Status: Native
Global and State Rank:

Species Photo Gallery for Driotura gammaroides No Common Name

Photo by: Rob Van Epps
Mecklenburg Co.
Comment: Caught sweeping in a field. There were several black individuals and this one var. "fulva". 		Photo by: Rob Van Epps
Iredell Co.
Comment: Caught sweeping in grassy/weedy field.
Photo by: Rob Van Epps
Iredell Co.
Comment: Caught sweeping in grassy/weedy field. 		Photo by: Scott Bolick
Randolph Co.
Comment:
Photo by: Scott Bolick
Randolph Co.
Comment: 		Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Brian Bockhahn, Paul Scharf
Vance Co.
Comment: Field/forest edge habitat. The first image shows a color variety
Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Brian Bockhahn, Paul Scharf
Vance Co.
Comment: Field/forest edge habitat. The first image shows a color variety		Photo by: Paul Scharf, Kyle Kittelberger, Brian Bockhahn
Vance Co.
Comment: Caught sweeping
Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Brian Bockhahn, Paul Scharf
Vance Co.
Comment: Field/forest edge habitat. The first image shows a color variety		Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Brian Bockhahn, Paul Scharf
Vance Co.
Comment: Field/forest edge habitat. The first image shows a color variety
Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Brian Bockhahn, Paul Scharf
Vance Co.
Comment: Field/forest edge habitat		Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Brian Bockhahn, Paul Scharf
Vance Co.
Comment: Field/forest edge habitat