Taxonomy
Family: CICADELLIDAE Subfamily: DeltocephalinaeTribe: DeltocephaliniTaxonomic Author: (Oman, 1934)
Identification
Online Photographs: BugGuide , GBIF Description: 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 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. 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. 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 female pregenital sternite is truncate with a broad blunt median tooth. 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
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: There appears to potentially be a cryptic species in the Coastal Plain that has a combination of characteristics from both Crumbana arundinea and Sanctanus tectus. The large fuscous marks on the head are darker than in Crumbana, the vertex is not quite as pointed and long as Crumbana, there are three black marks along the costal margin of each wing (similar to S. tectus), there are incomplete blackish marks along the anterior margin of the pronotum (and the orange coloration on the pronotum looks closer to S. tectus), the legs are largely pale with some black markings (like Crumbana), and the face is whitish with scattered small black marks (unlike either species). Additionally, the pregenital sternite is lobate and does not match that of either Crumbana or S. tectus.
Status: NativeGlobal and State Rank:
Species Photo Gallery for Sanctanus tectus No Common Name Photo by: Bo Sullivan Photo by: Bo Sullivan Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Paul Scharf Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Paul Scharf Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Paul Scharf Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Paul Scharf Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Paul Scharf
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