Hoppers of North Carolina:
Spittlebugs, Leafhoppers, Treehoppers, and Planthoppers
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CICADELLIDAE Members: NC Records

Scleroracus instabilis - No Common Name

No image for this species.
Taxonomy
Family: CICADELLIDAESubfamily: DeltocephalinaeTribe: LimotettiginiSynonym: Limotettix instabilis
Taxonomic Author: (Van Duzee, 1893)
Identification
Online Photographs: BugGuide, GBIF  iNaturalist  Google                                                                                  
Description: Fairly black overall with pale wing venation, pale inner wing cell areas, and some yellowish marks on the body. The pro- and mesothoracic legs are not bicolored. Adult males are 3.8-4.0 mm long, while females are 4.2-4.7 mm. (McKamey 2001)

See here for images of specimens: BOLD.

Distribution in North Carolina
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Distribution: Throughout much of North America; transcontinental in Canada, more scattered in the United States (3I)
Abundance: A single record from the mountains; possibly more abundant in the right habitat.
Seasonal Occurrence
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Habitats and Life History
Habitats:
Plant Associates: Bitter cherry (Prunus emarginata), chokecherry (Prunus virginiana), scarlet sumac (Rhus glabra), pussy willow (Salix discolor), weeping willow (Salix sepulcralis), Salix sp. (Chandler & Hamilton, 2017)
Behavior:
Comment: This species was previously treated as a junior synonym of the Palearctic species Ophiola corniculus; old records of O. corniculus in North America apply to Limotettix plutonius and L. instabilis.

NOTE: Some authors treat Ophiola, Ophiolix, and Scleroracus as distinct genera, while other authors treat these as subgenera within Limotettix. More work needs to be done to verify these distinctions/determine the borders of each genus (J. Kits pers. comment). For now, we will follow the latest treatment used in the World Auchenorrhyncha Database (BG).

Status: Native
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