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

Eratoneura externa - No Common Name


© CocoKitty- note pattern
Taxonomy
Family: CICADELLIDAESubfamily: TyphlocybinaeTribe: Erythroneurini
Taxonomic Author: (Beamer, 1931)
Identification
Online Photographs: BugGuide, GBIF  iNaturalist                                                                                  
Description: A yellow-white to yellowish species with a bold, vibrant red longitudinal color pattern. The vertex has red to reddish-orange parallel submedial lines, often with a lateral branch. These lines tend to be thickened around a pale midline, and extend across the pronotum and scutellum, with partial pale midlines on each of these two sections; the section on the pronotum is 'Y' or 'V'-shaped. Together, these red sections give the appearance of a continuous red line extending the length of the vertex, pronotum, and scutellum. The face is pale, as is the thoracic venter. The wings have broken oblique vittae, namely a prominent red spot along the commissure about halway along the length of the wings. Some individuals of this species, which may not be identifiable to species based on pics alone, have a number of red dots across the wings. Adults are 2.9- 3.2 mm long. (3I)

For more pics of this species, see: BG.

Distribution in North Carolina
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Distribution: Eastern United States, primarily west of the Appalachian mountains; now known from North Carolina to occur east of them.
Abundance: Rare, a single record from the Piedmont.
Seasonal Occurrence
Jan
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Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Mixed hardwood forest
Plant Associates: Quercus stellata, Q. macrocarpa, Q. falcata, Q. marilandica, Q, bicolor, Q. lyrata; also Prunus virginiana, Cryptomeria japonica 3I
Behavior: Can be attracted at night with a light.
Comment: A similar species, Eratoneura accola, which has yet to be recorded in North Carolina but has been collected close to the NC border in Virginia. It has a very similar color pattern but tends to lack the pale midline on the pronotum and vertex (though some individuals can have it). The red mark on the pronotum also tends to have a slightly different shape, and the mark on the scutellum looks more like a bold, thick arrow compared to externa. This species also lacks the numerous red dots on the wings that some externa individuals may have.
Status: Native
Global and State Rank:

Species Photo Gallery for Eratoneura externa No Common Name

Photo by: cocokitty
Guilford Co.
Comment: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/63841000 - unid_leafhopper		Photo by: cocokitty
Guilford Co.
Comment: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/63841000; state record