Hoppers of North Carolina

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

Family (Alpha):

CICADELLIDAE Members:	NC Records
Eratoneura aesculi - No Common Name

Taxonomy

Family: CICADELLIDAE	Subfamily: Typhlocybinae	Tribe: Erythroneurini
Taxonomic Author: (Beamer, 1932)

Identification

Online Photographs: BugGuide, GBIF iNaturalist
Description: A yellow-white to yellowish species with a bold, vibrant red color pattern on the wings. The vertex has yellowish-orange submedial lines, with lateral branches that form circular shapes. The pronotum has a Y or V-shaped yellowish medial mark, and the scutellum is yellowish with slightly darker lateral triangles. About a third of the wings is red, at the bases; the reddish mark covers most of the clavus, typically with a small rectangular section extending outwards from the posterior part of the mark. There is a small, oval to circular-shaped white spot inside the red, in the posterior half of the pattern. The rest of the wings are yellow with white patches. There are two small black spots on the inner margin of the apical cells, but no black spot along the costal margin of the wings; there is a red spot at the base of the crossveins before the wing tips. Adults are 2.9- 3.1 mm long. (3I)

Distribution in North Carolina

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

Distribution: Primarily the Mississippi and Ohio River Valley areas of eastern and central United States (3I)

Abundance: A couple records in the state from the Piedmont, likely 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:

Plant Associates: Aesculus sp. (3I)

Behavior: Can be attracted at night with a light.

Comment: This species could be confused with a couple similar-looking Eratoneura that have yet to be recorded in North Carolina but could conceivably occur here. E. fulleri has an almost identical red wing pattern (there seem to be some slight differences in the posterior extent/shape of the red, with the red extending further and appearing convex rather than concave in E. fulleri) with similar sized/shaped interior white spot, but it has a dark spot on the costal margin of the wing, something that is absent in E. aesculi; this is a helpful distinguishing characteristic. E. pyra also has a small dark spot on the costal margins of the wings, but more importantly, the white spot in the red wing pattern is very large, at least two or three times larger than the white spot in E. aesculi.

It could also be confused with E. bella. Both species have similar wing patterns, but E. bella lacks the small, circle to oval-shaped white patch inside the red that E. aesculi typically has.

Status: Native

Global and State Rank:

Species Photo Gallery for Eratoneura aesculi No Common Name
	Photo by: Rob Van Epps Mecklenburg Co. Comment:	Photo by: Scott Bolick Montgomery Co. Comment:
	Photo by: Scott Bolick Montgomery Co. Comment:	Photo by: Scott Bolick Montgomery Co. Comment:
	Photo by: Scott Bolick Randolph Co. Comment: teneral	Photo by: Scott Bolick Randolph Co. Comment:
	Photo by: Scott Bolick Randolph Co. Comment:	Photo by: Scott Bolick Randolph Co. Comment:
	Photo by: Rob Van Epps Mecklenburg Co. Comment: Attracted to UV light. Greenway in wooded area. Female. Photo by K. Kittelberger	Photo by: Rob Van Epps Mecklenburg Co. Comment: Attracted to UV light. Greenway in wooded area. Female. Photo by K. Kittelberger
	Photo by: Rob Van Epps Mecklenburg Co. Comment: Attracted to UV light. Greenway in wooded area. Female. Photo by K. Kittelberger	Photo by: Rob Van Epps Mecklenburg Co. Comment: Attracted to UV light. Greenway in wooded area. Costal margin spot is red
	Photo by: Rob Van Epps Mecklenburg Co. Comment: Attracted to UV light. Greenway in wooded area.

Eratoneura aesculi - No Common Name

Species Photo Gallery for Eratoneura aesculi No Common Name