Hoppers of North Carolina

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

Family (Alpha):

MEMBRACIDAE Members:	NC Records
Ophiderma pubescens - No Common Name

Taxonomy

Family: MEMBRACIDAE	Subfamily: Smiliinae
Taxonomic Author: (Emmons)

Identification

Online Photographs: BugGuide, GBIF iNaturalist Google
Description: Females are light brown mottled with white. There is an indistinct pale transverse band across the middle of the pronotum, separating the reddish-brwon rear from the darker, mottled front. As the name suggests, this species is hairy/pubescent. The wings have a brownish tinge to their base, and a brown smudge to the tip. The undersurface of the body is yellowish, with dark legs. Males are smaller and darker than the female, with a pronotum ranging in color from brown to blackish. There is a small transverse, white band near the rear of the pronotum, and a white band on the outer margin of the pronotum near the head, where it converges with the yellow of the head. The eyes are prominent and grayish, and the ocelli are transparent and protruding. The pronotum is closely and finely punctate, densely pubescent. The wings have a brownish tip, and the undersurface of the body is yellowish; the legs are also yellow with black bases. Adults males are 6.5 mm long, females are 7 mm. (Kopp, 1973)

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: Eastern and central North America

Abundance: Seasonal distribution: 24 April-26 July (CTNC)

Seasonal Occurrence

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

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Where oaks are present.

Plant Associates: Quercus falcata, Q. marilandica, Q. stellata (CTNC); also from Q. rubra (CTGSMNP)

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: This species is most similar to O. definita, especially the male, and some individuals may be difficult to identify.

Status: Native

Global and State Rank:

See also Habitat Account for General Oak-Hickory Forests

Species Photo Gallery for Ophiderma pubescens No Common Name
	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 Montgomery Co. Comment:
	Photo by: Scott Bolick Montgomery Co. Comment:	Photo by: Scott Bolick Montgomery Co. Comment:
	Photo by: Ken Kneidel Mecklenburg Co. Comment: 7 mm male trapped in Tanglefoot on a tree band on Quercus phellos	Photo by: Ken Kneidel Mecklenburg Co. Comment: 7 mm male trapped in Tanglefoot on a tree band on Quercus phellos
	Photo by: Ken Kneidel Mecklenburg Co. Comment: 7.5 mm female on Willow Oak, Quercus phellos, stuck in Tanglefoot on a tree band, others of both sexes nearby to be submitted separately	Photo by: Ken Kneidel Mecklenburg Co. Comment: 7.5 mm female on Willow Oak, Quercus phellos, stuck in Tanglefoot on a tree band, others of both sexes nearby to be submitted separately
	Photo by: Ken Kneidel Mecklenburg Co. Comment: 7.5 mm female on Willow Oak, Quercus phellos, stuck in Tanglefoot on a tree band, others of both sexes nearby to be submitted separately	Photo by: Ken Kneidel Mecklenburg Co. Comment: 7.5 mm female on Willow Oak, Quercus phellos, stuck in Tanglefoot on a tree band, others of both sexes nearby to be submitted separately
	Photo by: Julie Tuttle Chatham Co. Comment: This site is low-density residential in a dry, rocky hilltop oak-hickory forest dominated by white oak (Quercus alba) in the tree canopy.	Photo by: Julie Tuttle Chatham Co. Comment: This site is low-density residential in a dry, rocky hilltop oak-hickory forest dominated by white oak (Quercus alba) in the tree canopy.
	Photo by: Julie Tuttle Chatham Co. Comment: This site is low-density residential in a dry, rocky hilltop oak-hickory forest dominated by white oak (Quercus alba) in the tree canopy.	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger Out Of State Co. Comment: female, 6.0 mm
	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger Out Of State Co. Comment: female, 6.0 mm	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger Out Of State Co. Comment: female, 6.0 mm
	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger Out Of State Co. Comment: female, 6.0 mm	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger Out Of State Co. Comment: female, 6.4 mm
	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger Out Of State Co. Comment: female, 6.4 mm	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger Out Of State Co. Comment: female, 6.4 mm
	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger Out Of State Co. Comment: female, 6.4 mm	Photo by: Mark J. Rothschild Out Of State Co. Comment:
	Photo by: Mark J. Rothschild Out Of State Co. Comment: female	Photo by: Matthew S. Wallace Out Of State Co. Comment: male

Ophiderma pubescens - No Common Name

Species Photo Gallery for Ophiderma pubescens No Common Name