Hoppers of North Carolina

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

Family (Alpha):

CICADELLIDAE Members:	NC Records
Idiocerus stigmaticalis - No Common Name

Taxonomy

Family: CICADELLIDAE

Subfamily: Eurymelinae

Tribe: Idiocerini

Subgenus: Idiocerus

Taxonomic Author: Lewis, 1834

Identification

Online Photographs: BugGuide, GBIF iNaturalist Google

Description: Mottled brown with black and yellow. The vertex is evenly rounded, being longer near the eyes than in the middle. The vertex and face are unicolorous yellow-brown, sometimes with a pair of small spots on the vertex about twice their own width from the eyes. The male antennae have a small round apical disc. The pronotum is yellow-brown, mottled with brown, with dark brown spots along the anterior margin. The scutellum is yellow brown with dark brown triangles. The forewings are yellow-brown with brown veins. The male costal margin is black and yellow with the asperate area pink; there is an orange spot near the apex that covers from the costal margin to the apex of the outer anteapical cell. The wing veins form a crossband at each wing tip; i.e., the apical crossveins align, characteristic of this species. The underside of the body is pale. The male subgenital plates are long, thing, and nearly the same width throughout; the pygofer is thick, with a rounded apex. The female pregenital sternite has the posterior margin greatly produced in the middle, giving a triangular shape; the pygofer is short and broadly rounded. Adult males are 6.1-6.6 mm long, while females are 6.2 to 7.2 mm. (Freytag, 1965; Hamilton, 1985)

Nymphs are a mixture of green and black, not atypical for the genus.

For diagrams of the species, see: 3I.

Distribution in North Carolina

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

Distribution: Native to Europe, first reported in North America from Massachusetts in 1924, then spreading to Ontario in 1956, Nova Scotia in 1969, and Newfoundland in 1984 (Hamilton, 1983; Hamilton & Langor, 1987). Abundant in eastern Canada and adjacent United States (New England area); the North Carolina record from the mountains represents a big southern range expansion.

Abundance: Rare, previously unknown from the state, two recent records from the mountains. This species is likely expanding and should be found elsewhere, at least in the mountains.

Seasonal Occurrence

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

Habitats and Life History

Habitats:

Plant Associates: Willows (Salix spp.): white willow (S. alba), weeping willow (S. babylonica), crack willow (S. fragilis), bayleaf willow (S. pentandra) (Chandler & Hamilton, 2017; Hamilton, 1985); sometimes on poplars (Populus sp.) in Europe (Freytag, 1965)

Behavior: Can be attracted at night with a light. This species overwinters as adults, becoming sexually mature in the spring (BG).

Comment: This species could potentially be confused with the undescribed Idiocerus species, as they do have similar patterns, but note that I. stigmaticalis has a quite wide head (compared to the rounded head of the other species), the female pregenital sternites differ, male I. stigmaticalis typically have an orange stripe on the outer edge of the wings, and the apical crossveins in I. stigmaticalis align.

Status: Introduced

Global and State Rank:

Species Photo Gallery for Idiocerus stigmaticalis No Common Name
	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Watauga Co. Comment: Found on an Alder stem. - unid_leafhopper	Photo by: Ted Wilcox Watauga Co. Comment: Found on an Alder stem. - unid_leafhopper
	Photo by: Bo Sullivan Ashe Co. Comment: female	Photo by: Bo Sullivan Ashe Co. Comment: female
	Photo by: Bo Sullivan Ashe Co. Comment: female	Photo by: Bo Sullivan Ashe Co. Comment: female, 6.7 mm
	Photo by: Bo Sullivan Ashe Co. Comment: female, 6.7 mm	Photo by: Bo Sullivan Ashe Co. Comment: female, 6.7 mm
	Photo by: Bo Sullivan Ashe Co. Comment: female, 6.7 mm

Idiocerus stigmaticalis - No Common Name

Species Photo Gallery for Idiocerus stigmaticalis No Common Name