Hoppers of North Carolina:
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CICADELLIDAE Members: NC Records

Sanctanus tectus - No Common Name



© Kyle Kittelberger- note wing pattern

© Kyle Kittelberger- note black head spots

© Kyle Kittelberger- note pattern

© Bo Sullivan
Taxonomy
Family: CICADELLIDAESubfamily: DeltocephalinaeTribe: 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
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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