Hoppers of North Carolina

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

Family (Alpha):

CICADELLIDAE Members:	NC Records
Ponana aenea - No Common Name

Taxonomy

Family: CICADELLIDAE

Subfamily: Iassinae

Tribe: Gyponini

Subgenus: Ponana

Taxonomic Author: (DeLong, 1942)

Identification

Online Photographs: BugGuide, GBIF iNaturalist
Description: Brown to yellowish-brown overall, with the wings pale to dark brownish, sometimes with reddish flecks. This species has a small number of symmetrical blackish markings across the wings, which tend to be dashes and oblong spots rather than dots; these spots are only at the end of each claval vein where it touches the commissure and on the anterior m-cu crossveins. The apical crossveins have some dark outlining but lack any distinct spots. The pronotum is essentially unmarked, lacking any prominent small dots that are typical of other members of this species. The vertex is rather strongly produced, with the apex rounded, more than half as long in the middle as the width between the eyes. The female pregenital sternite has the lateral angles produced and rounded, with the posterior margin in between concavely excavated to either side of a pair of short, broadly rounded median lobes that are separated by a short median notch. Adults are 8.0-9.0 mm long. (DeLong, 1942; DeLong & Freytag, 1967; J. Kits, pers. comments)

Distribution in North Carolina

County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.

Distribution: Eastern and central United States

Abundance: Scattered records from the mountains, a single record from the Coastal Plain; likely under collected and more abundant.

Seasonal Occurrence

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

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Forest edge, mixed hardwood forest openings, grassy areas

Plant Associates:

Behavior: Can be attracted at night with a light.

Comment: This species is similar to and could be confused with Ponana rubida. It has fewer wing spots than almost all P. rubida, with spots only at the end of each claval vein where it touches the commissure and on the two anterior m-cu crossveins. The other spots in rubida generally seem absent, and the apical crossveins have some dark outlining but no distinct spots. There also seems to be a more distinct reddish wash near the anterior costal margin of the wing than in rubida. (J. Kits, pers. comment)

Status: Native

Global and State Rank:

Species Photo Gallery for Ponana aenea No Common Name
	Photo by: Ken Kneidel Yancey Co. Comment: 8.4 mm	Photo by: Ken Kneidel Yancey Co. Comment: 8.4 mm
	Photo by: Mark Shields Onslow Co. Comment: unid_leafhopper	Photo by: Mark Shields Onslow Co. Comment: unid_leafhopper
	Photo by: Mark Shields Onslow Co. Comment:	Photo by: Mark Shields Onslow Co. Comment: unid_leafhopper
	Photo by: Mark Shields Onslow Co. Comment:	Photo by: Mark Shields Onslow Co. Comment:
	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Brian Bockhahn Polk Co. Comment: 1 female, 2 males: 9.0 mm male & mm male	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Brian Bockhahn Polk Co. Comment: 1 female, 2 males: 9.0 mm male & mm male
	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Brian Bockhahn Polk Co. Comment: 1 female, 2 males: 9.0 mm male & mm male	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Brian Bockhahn Polk Co. Comment: 1 female, 2 males: 9.0 mm male & mm male
	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Brian Bockhahn Polk Co. Comment: 1 female, 2 males: 9.0 mm male & 8.8 mm male	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Brian Bockhahn Polk Co. Comment: 1 female, 2 males: 9.0 mm male & 8.8 mm male
	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Brian Bockhahn Polk Co. Comment: 1 female, 2 males: 9.0 mm male & 8.8 mm male	Photo by: Bo Sullivan Ashe Co. Comment: male, photographed by K. Kittelberger; 8.5 mm (#1)
	Photo by: Bo Sullivan Ashe Co. Comment: male, photographed by K. Kittelberger;	Photo by: Bo Sullivan Ashe Co. Comment: male, photographed by K. Kittelberger; 8.5 mm (#1)

Ponana aenea - No Common Name

Species Photo Gallery for Ponana aenea No Common Name