Hoppers of North Carolina

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

Family (Alpha):

CICADELLIDAE Members:	NC Records
Balclutha frontalis - No Common Name

Taxonomy

Family: CICADELLIDAE

Subfamily: Deltocephalinae

Tribe: Macrostelini

Synonym: Balclutha rosea, B. hebe, B. guajanae

Taxonomic Author: (Ferrari, 1882)

Identification

Online Photographs: BugGuide, GBIF iNaturalist
Description: A slender species that is pale yellow, very pale testaceous or ivory in color; the face has brown coloration. There is a thin pale brown longitudinal line medially across the pronotum, extending onto the vertex and scutellum. There is a longitudinal band on either side of the pronotal midline, and the lateral areas of the pronotum and basal angles of the scutellum are pale fuscous or orange; the longitudinal bands are sometimes indistinct and can also extend on the posterior portion of the vertex. The forewings are either colorless or a pale brown, and the vertex, pronotum, scutellum, and basal half of the forewings can sometimes be pinkish. The head is as wide as or slightly wider than the pronotum; the vertex is the same length in the middle as next to the eye. The male subgenital plates taper gradually to short finger-like apexes. Adult males are 3.3 to 3.8 mm long, females are 3.7 to 4.2 mm. Nymphs are a light brown color. (Knight, 1987) For images of specimens of nymphs and adults, see: BOLD. For images of diagrams, see: TW.

Distribution in North Carolina

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

Distribution: Southeastern United States, recorded as far north as Ohio and New Hampshire (Chandler & Hamilton, 2017); also found throughout the rest of the Americas, Asia, Australasia, Africa, and the Mediterranean (Knight, 1987)

Abundance: Recorded from a couple counties in the Piedmont and mountains, likely under collected and therefore more abundant in the right habitat.

Seasonal Occurrence

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

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Grasslands, fields, marshes, other similar habitats.

Plant Associates: Various genera of Poaceae, Rutaceae and Malvaceae (Chandler & Hamilton, 2017); Knight (1987) reports the following host plants for this species from around the world, most from the Caribbean: Cirus paradisi (grapefruit), Gossypium sp. (cotton), Panicum barbinode, Saccharum sp. (sugar-cane), Setaria viridis, Sorghum sp.

Behavior: Can be attracted at night with a light.

Comment: NOTE: As of now, it is probably necessary to collect male specimens to confirm the identification of any specimens that may be this species. Balclutha is a very challenging genus to identify without male genitalia, with multiple species showing a high degree of color and pattern variation and similarity in head shape, size and female pregenital sternite shape.

See B. incisa for a note on some taxonomic confusion with B. hebe, which is now synonymized with B. rosea.

Status: Native

Global and State Rank:

Species Photo Gallery for Balclutha frontalis No Common Name
	Photo by: Erich Hofmann New Hanover Co. Comment: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/59240008	Photo by: Erich Hofmann New Hanover Co. Comment: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/59240008
	Photo by: Erich Hofmann New Hanover Co. Comment: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/59240008	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger Wake Co. Comment: male, 3.46 mm
	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger Wake Co. Comment: male, 3.46 mm	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger Wake Co. Comment: male and female (4.1 mm)
	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger Wake Co. Comment: male and female (4.1 mm)	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger Wake Co. Comment: male and female (4.1 mm)
	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger Wake Co. Comment: male (3.6 mm)	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger Wake Co. Comment: male (3.6 mm)
	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger Wake Co. Comment: male (3.6 mm)	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Brian Bockhahn Transylvania Co. Comment: female; 4.1 mm
	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Brian Bockhahn Transylvania Co. Comment: female; 4.1 mm	Photo by: Kyle Kittelberger, Brian Bockhahn Transylvania Co. Comment: female; 4.1 mm

Balclutha frontalis - No Common Name

Species Photo Gallery for Balclutha frontalis No Common Name