Hoppers of North Carolina

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

Family (Alpha):

MEMBRACIDAE Members:	NC Records
Tylopelta gibbera - No Common Name

Taxonomy

Family: MEMBRACIDAE

Subfamily: Membracinae

Tribe: Membracini

Synonym: Tylopelta americana

Taxonomic Author: (Stål, 1869)

Identification

Online Photographs: BugGuide, GBIF iNaturalist Google
Description: A distinctive looking treehopper, dark reddish-brown to blackish in color. Key characteristics include its small size and the wavy, uneven outline of the pronotum, the latter of which is not found on any of the other treehoppers found in NC. The head is nearly quadrangular and is punctured. The tegmina are blackish brown, spotted in the middle with white; the exterior angle and apex are ferruginous-brown, with a white patch in front of this. The legs are black while the tarsi are a light ferruginous color. Adult females are 4 mm long while males are 3 mm. (Kopp & Yonke, 1973) See FSCA for more info, and BG for additional images of this species.

Distribution in North Carolina

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

Out of State Record(s)

Distribution: Southeastern United States, west to the Southwest and south through Mexico into Central America (FSCA)

Abundance: An uncommon to rare species with several records in the state. Seasonal distribution: 16 April-27 September (CTNC)

Seasonal Occurrence

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

Habitats and Life History

Habitats:

Plant Associates: Desmodium sp. (CTNC)

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:

Status: Native

Global and State Rank:

Species Photo Gallery for Tylopelta gibbera No Common Name
	Photo by: Matthew S. Wallace Out Of State Co. Comment:	Photo by: Bockhahn, Scharf McDowell Co. Comment: LAJA - 2014 BioBlitz
	Photo by: Bockhahn, Scharf McDowell Co. Comment: LAJA - 2014 BioBlitz	Photo by: Bockhahn, Scharf McDowell Co. Comment: LAJA - 2014 BioBlitz
	Photo by: Bockhahn, Scharf McDowell Co. Comment: LAJA - 2014 BioBlitz

Tylopelta gibbera - No Common Name

Species Photo Gallery for Tylopelta gibbera No Common Name