Hoppers of North Carolina

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

Family (Alpha):

MEMBRACIDAE Members:	NC Records
Stictocephala taurina - No Common Name

Taxonomy

Family: MEMBRACIDAE	Subfamily: Smiliinae
Taxonomic Author: (Fitch, 1856)

Identification

Online Photographs: BugGuide, GBIF iNaturalist Google
Description: A green species with many pale spots scattered all over the pronotum. The horns are prominent but not overly large and may have a dark edge to them. The legs are green. The nymph is typical for this genus, see above. Adults are 7.5 mm long (BG).

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: Transcontinental

Abundance: Recorded from the mountains and Piedmont. Seasonal distribution: 19 June-18 September (CTNC)

Seasonal Occurrence

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

Habitats and Life History

Habitats:

Plant Associates: Helianthus sp., Rubus sp., Sambucus canadensis, Smilax 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: Many Stictocephala may not be identifiable from an image; this is a very difficult group of treehoppers to identify correctly (for many species). This species is perhaps most similar to Hadrophallus bubalus, as both species have a very similar color pattern and a similarly sized pronotum. However, H. bubalus has dense pubescence (white hair) scattered across the pronotum, whereas taurina has little to no pubescence.

Status: Native

Global and State Rank:

Stictocephala taurina - No Common Name

Species Photo Gallery for Stictocephala taurina No Common Name

Species Photo Gallery for Stictocephala taurina No Common Name
	Photo by: Scott Bolick Watauga Co. Comment:	Photo by: Scott Bolick Watauga Co. Comment:
	Photo by: Scott Bolick Watauga Co. Comment:	Photo by: Scott Bolick Watauga Co. Comment:
	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:	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:
	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Watauga Co. Comment:	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Avery Co. Comment: unid_treehopper
	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Avery Co. Comment: unid_treehopper	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Avery Co. Comment: unid_treehopper
	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Avery Co. Comment: unid_treehopper	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Avery Co. Comment: unid_treehopper
	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Avery Co. Comment: unid_treehopper	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Avery Co. Comment: unid_treehopper
	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Avery Co. Comment: unid_treehopper	Photo by: Ken Kneidel Yancey Co. Comment: edge of lush forest at foothills of Black Mountains with small lawn and meadow nearby; TENTATIVE ID
	Photo by: Ken Childs Out Of State Co. Comment:	Photo by: Ken Kneidel Yancey Co. Comment: edge of lush forest at foothills of Black Mountains with small lawn and meadow nearby
	Photo by: Ken Kneidel Yancey Co. Comment: edge of lush forest at foothills of Black Mountains with small lawn and meadow nearby	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger Out Of State Co. Comment:
	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger Out Of State Co. Comment:	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger Out Of State Co. Comment:
	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger Out Of State Co. Comment:	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger Out Of State Co. Comment: