Hoppers of North Carolina

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

Family (Alpha):

MEMBRACIDAE Members:	NC Records
Cyrtolobus griseus - No Common Name

Taxonomy

Family: MEMBRACIDAE

Subfamily: Smiliinae

Identification

Online Photographs: BugGuide, GBIF iNaturalist
Description: The female is a grayish color with some yellow. Black markings cross the pronotum, which can be described as mostly bicolored- half of the pronotum is a light brown while the other half is considerably darker. A white transverse band can be found at the rear of the pronotum, and there is a pale, transverse mid-dorsal spot. Males have a brownish pronotum with a whitish margin. The mid-dorsal spot is a distinctive white, and there is a prominent dark brown "V" formed on the pronotum, near the middle; the tip of the pronotum is a dark brown. The male's face is white with some dark brown below the eyes; ocelli are red. The underside of the thorax is black while the abdomen is pale with some blackening at the edges and in the center of abdominal segments. The legs are pale medially, black laterally, with some yellowish color. Adults are generally between 5.9 and 6.3 mm long. (Kopp)

Distribution in North Carolina

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

Out of State Record(s)

Distribution: Eastern and Central North America (Kopp)

Abundance: Several records from across the state. Seasonal distribution: 29 April-6 July (CTNC)

Seasonal Occurrence

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

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Where oaks are present.

Plant Associates: Quercus alba, Q. stellata (CTNC)

Behavior: To listen to the male courtship call for this genus, listen here. These courtship calls are not audible to the human ear, and the calls here are produced by recording the substrate vibrations that the treehoppers use to communicate through the plants themselves. The recorded call is then amplified so that it is now audible to human ears. Research has shown that treehoppers use vibrations to attract mates, to announce the discovery of a good feeding site, or to alert a defending mother to the approach of a predator (T.IM) .

Comment: Males of this species resemble the males of C. vau and C. pulchellus. C. griseus "differs from vau in having the anterior arm of the dark "V" of the pronotum narrowed at the middle and by being generally lower; it differs from pulchellus by being larger" (Kopp).

Status: Native

Global and State Rank:

See also Habitat Account for General Oak-Hickory Forests

Species Photo Gallery for Cyrtolobus griseus No Common Name
	Photo by: T.K. Wood (maybe) Out Of State Co. Comment: not databased, UDCCrncoll. June 19, 1970	Photo by: T.K. Wood (maybe) Out Of State Co. Comment: not databased, UDCCrncoll. June 19, 1970
	Photo by: T.K. Wood (maybe) Out Of State Co. Comment: not databased, UDCCrncoll. June 19, 1970	Photo by: T.K. Wood Out Of State Co. Comment: UDCC_TCN 00008608
	Photo by: T.K. Wood Out Of State Co. Comment: UDCC_TCN 00008608	Photo by: T.K. Wood Out Of State Co. Comment: UDCC_TCN 00008608
	Photo by: T.K. Wood Out Of State Co. Comment: UDCC_TCN 00008610	Photo by: T.K. Wood Out Of State Co. Comment: UDCC_TCN 00008610
	Photo by: T.K. Wood Out Of State Co. Comment: UDCC_TCN 00008610

Cyrtolobus griseus - No Common Name

Species Photo Gallery for Cyrtolobus griseus No Common Name