Hoppers of North Carolina

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

Family (Alpha):

Cicadellidae Members:	NC Records
Scaphoideus luteolus - White-banded Elm Leafhopper

Taxonomy

Family: Cicadellidae

Subfamily: Deltocephalinae

Identification

Online Photographs: BugGuide, GBIF iNaturalist
Description: Adults are typically a dusky amber yellow to orange color overall. The tip of the crown (top of the head) is whitish to yellow with a thin brown marginal line. There is a broad orange { shaped mark between the eyes, typically above a thin pale base of the crown (before the pronotum). The eyes are reddish (sometimes bright red) with a whitish longitudinal line going through them. The face is a golden yellow to pale orange color, as is the rest of the underside of this species; the abdominal segments though have a thin white border to the posterior edge. The pronotum is mostly an orange color, with a pale bluish-gray T-shaped marked. The scutellum is bicolored, with the anterior half orange and the posterior part a cream color. The wings are golden yellow to orange, with some scattered white spots; the tip of the wings have a thin dark border. The wing venation is brownish-yellow. The male genital valve and plates are golden yellow to orange. The female pregenital sternite is golden yellow to orange, with some dark brown shading; it has a narrow medial notch posteriorly, with two ventrally curved areas on either side of the notch. Adult males are 4.7-5.3 mm long, while females are 5.2-5.7 mm. (Barnett 1976) The nymph is dark overall except for 2 to 3 whitish abdominal segments. See here for more images of this species: 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: Eastern and central United States (Barnett 1976)

Abundance: A single county record; rare in the state but likely under collected and therefore more abundant.

Seasonal Occurrence

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

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Herbaceous woodland habitats

Plant Associates: Willow, elm (Ulmus americana), Vitis, cottonwood, other herbaceous plants (Barnett 1976)

Behavior: Can be attracted at night with a light.

Comment: This species feeds on the leaf veins of elms, and can transmit elm yellows phytoplasma (CABI). For more information on Elm yellows, see: MISC 2009.

Status: Native

Global and State Rank:

Species Photo Gallery for Scaphoideus luteolus White-banded Elm Leafhopper
	Photo by: Ken Kneidel Mecklenburg Co. Comment: 5.5 mm female, came to UV light at night, wooded residential	Photo by: Ken Kneidel Mecklenburg Co. Comment: 5.5 mm female, came to UV light at night, wooded residential
	Photo by: Ken Kneidel Mecklenburg Co. Comment: 5.5 mm female, came to UV light at night, wooded residential	Photo by: Ken Kneidel Mecklenburg Co. Comment: 5.5 mm female, came to UV light at night, wooded residential
	Photo by: Ken Kneidel Mecklenburg Co. Comment: 5.2 mm female	Photo by: Ken Kneidel Mecklenburg Co. Comment: 5.2 mm female
	Photo by: Ken Kneidel Mecklenburg Co. Comment: 5.2 mm female	Photo by: Ken Kneidel Mecklenburg Co. Comment: 5.3 mm female, came to UV light at night
	Photo by: Ken Kneidel Mecklenburg Co. Comment: 5.3 mm female, came to UV light at night	Photo by: Ken Kneidel Mecklenburg Co. Comment: 5.3 mm female, came to UV light at night
	Photo by: Ken Childs Out Of State Co. Comment:	Photo by: Ken Childs Out Of State Co. Comment:
	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger Stanly Co. Comment: NCSU specimen; male	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger Stanly Co. Comment: NCSU specimen; male
	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger Stanly Co. Comment: NCSU specimen; male

Scaphoideus luteolus - White-banded Elm Leafhopper

Species Photo Gallery for Scaphoideus luteolus White-banded Elm Leafhopper