Hoppers of North Carolina

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

Family (Alpha):

CICADELLIDAE Members:	NC Records
Sanctanus tectus - No Common Name

Taxonomy

Family: CICADELLIDAE	Subfamily: Deltocephalinae	Tribe: Deltocephalini
Taxonomic Author: (Oman, 1934)

Identification

Online Photographs: BugGuide, GBIF iNaturalist
Description: A somewhat variable orange-brown species with darker markings. This species has a pale vertex with a pair of small black spots at the apex and a large pair of irregularly-shaped black spots on the disc near the ocelli; these large spots are fused with the upper black band on the frons. The face is pale with [up to] three transverse black bands and a thick pale band across the middle; the dark bands are across the apex of the clypeus, below the antennae, and below the margin of the vertex. In some individuals, the face can be largely pale/whitish with scattered small black marks. There is also a pair of small, curved black spots on the posterior portion of the vertex. The vertex is strongly produced and angled, a little wider between the eyes at the base than the median length. The pronotum has a rectangular black spot on the anterior margin, medially, and a large irregular blackish mark behind each eye; much of the rest of the pronotum a mixture of orange and bluish gray. The pronotal disc is brownish with pale margins. The basal portions of the wings are white, with a fuscous, blackish spot on the disc of each clavus and three fuscous, blackish spots on each costal margin. The wing venation is pale, margined with fuscous. The legs are mostly pale with some black markings. The female pregenital sternite is described as being truncate with a broad blunt median tooth, but some individuals (??) can apparently show a lobate sternite. The male subgenital plates are elongate and triangular, rather broad basally tapering to narrow blunt tips. Adults are 4.0-4.5 mm long. (Oman 1934, DeLong & Hershberger 1946)

Distribution in North Carolina

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

Distribution: The Atlantic coast of South Carolina north to Virginia (DeLong & Hershberger 1946); North Carolina seems to be a hotspot for this species.

Abundance: Previously reported from the state (Oman 1934, DeLong & Hershberger 1946), but unclear from where. Recorded recently from the Coastal Plain; possibly more abundant in the state in the right habitat, especially in the Coastal Plain.

Seasonal Occurrence

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

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Has been found in open habitat near mixed hardwood forest edge.

Plant Associates: Arundinaria tecta (Oman 1934)

Behavior: Can be attracted at night with a light.

Comment: This species is very similar to Crumbana arundinea in coloration and pattern, with tectus actually described as resembling arundineus but seemingly related to other Sanctanus species (DeLong and Hershberger 1946), and both species actually share the same host plant. Crumbana though tends to be paler overall, with a more pointed vertex that has a different spot pattern compared to Sanctanus tectus: two large orange-fuscous spots with two symmetric small black spots along the vertex margin, with the pair at the apex shaped like triangles. In contrast, tectus has two large black spots on the vertex, and there are black patches along the posterior margin of the vertex and anterior margin of the pronotum. The face pattern is also different, being darker with a dividing pale band in tectus and less dark but more uniformly colored in arundineus. The female pregenital sternites of both species also differ, with the sternite trilobate in arundineus and truncate in tectus.

NOTE: The issue of the pregenital sternite in some individuals not matching the description fo rthe species needs to be resolved.

Status: Native

Global and State Rank:

See also Habitat Account for Coastal Plain Cane Thickets

Species Photo Gallery for Sanctanus tectus No Common Name
	Photo by: Bo Sullivan Craven Co. Comment:	Photo by: Bo Sullivan Craven Co. Comment:
	Photo by: Bo Sullivan Craven Co. Comment:	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Paul Scharf Gates Co. Comment: open, grassy area near mixed hardwood forest.
	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Paul Scharf Gates Co. Comment: open, grassy area near mixed hardwood forest.	Photo by: Bo Sullivan Jones Co. Comment:
	Photo by: Bo Sullivan Jones Co. Comment:	Photo by: Bo Sullivan Jones Co. Comment: male
	Photo by: Bo Sullivan Jones Co. Comment: male	Photo by: Bo Sullivan Jones Co. Comment: male
	Photo by: Erich Hofmann Craven Co. Comment: females	Photo by: Erich Hofmann Craven Co. Comment: females
	Photo by: Erich Hofmann Craven Co. Comment: female	Photo by: Erich Hofmann Craven Co. Comment: female
	Photo by: Erich Hofmann Craven Co. Comment: females	Photo by: Erich Hofmann Craven Co. Comment: females
	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Brian Bockhahn Washington Co. Comment: open area near forest edge; in parking lot. Atypic individual	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Brian Bockhahn Washington Co. Comment: open area near forest edge; in parking lot
	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Brian Bockhahn Washington Co. Comment: open area near forest edge; in parking lot	Photo by: Bo Sullivan Craven Co. Comment: powerline cut; female
	Photo by: Bo Sullivan Craven Co. Comment: powerline cut; female	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Paul Scharf Gates Co. Comment: open, grassy area near mixed hardwood forest; male, ID confirmed by C. Dietrich via specimen
	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Paul Scharf Gates Co. Comment: open, grassy area near mixed hardwood forest; male	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Paul Scharf Gates Co. Comment: open, grassy area near mixed hardwood forest
	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Paul Scharf Gates Co. Comment: open, grassy area near mixed hardwood forest	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Paul Scharf Gates Co. Comment: open, grassy area near mixed hardwood forest

Sanctanus tectus - No Common Name

Species Photo Gallery for Sanctanus tectus No Common Name