Family Delphacidae

Subfamily Delphacinae

Tribe Delphacini

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Distribution: Mostly North and Central America, also Caribbean; uncommonly South America.

Type species (in original combination): Delphax concinna Stal, 1854

Generic synonym

  Goniolcium Fowler, 1905 (Type species Goniolcium granulosum Fowler, 1905); Synonym made by Muir, 1915: 264.

Recognized species

There are 11 described species in this genus. Stobaera was revised by Kramer (1973) and distribution records prior to this revision should be interpreted with care.

Stobaera affinis Van Duzee, 1909 - USA: Florida.
Stobaera azteca Muir, 1913 - Mexico (Guerrero, Morelos, Puebla, San Luis Potosi, Veracruz), Guatemala, Nicaragua.
Stobaera bilobata Van Duzee, 1914 - USA: California.
Stobaera caldwelli Kramer, 1973 - USA: Arizona, California, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, Utah; Mexico (Baja California North, Sonora).
Stobaera concinna (Stål, 1859) - USA: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Utah, Mexico (Oaxaca, Sonora, Veracruz); Cuba, Hispaniola (also reported Illinois and New Jersey, probably in error); specimens reported as Stobaera sp. by Fennah, 1959 are probably this species.
Stobaera giffardi Van Duzee, 1917 - USA: California, Oregon
Stobaera granulosa (Fowler, 1905) - Mexico (Guerrero, Oaxaca, Veracruz), Guatemala, ?Ecuador.
Stobaera koebeli Muir, 1913 - Mexico (Federal District, Morelos, Veracruz), Guatemala.
Stobaera muiri Kramer, 1973 - USA: California.
Stobaera pallida Osborn, 1905 - USA: Delaware, Florida, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, New Jersey, Virginia; Mexico (Federal District, Mexico, Puebla).
Stobaera tricarinata (Say, 1825) - Probably all of the conterminous United States (specifically recorded from Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia); Canada: British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec; Mexico (Baja California North); also reported, probably erroneously, from Guatemala, Nicaragua, Cuba, Puerto Rico.

There may be additional, undescribed species of Stobaera in Central or potentially South America. 

Economic importance: Probably limited, although reported from sunflower. 

Host plants:

Confirmed hosts are all Asteraceae, primarily Ragweeds (Ambrosia spp.).

Stobaera affinis - Ambrosia sp. (ragweed).
Stobaera bilobata - Hazardia squarrosa (Hook. & Arn.) Greene var. squarrosa (sawtooth goldenbush; as Haplopappus squarrosus Hook. & Arn.).
Stobaera caldwelli - Ambrosia spp., Hymenoclea salsola Torr. & A. Gray (burrobrush), Bebbia juncea (Benth.) Greene (sweetbush), Trixis californica Kellogg (American threefold).
Stobaera concinna - Ambrosia spp., Parthenium hysterophorus L. (Santa Maria feverfew).
Stobaera giffardi - Artemesia sp. (sagebrush).
Stobaera muiri - Ambrosia spp.
Stobaera pallida - Baccharis halimifolia L.(eastern baccharis).
Stobaera tricarinata - Ambrosia spp., Helianthus argophyllus Torr. & A. Gray (silverleaf sunflower).

Plant names (including common names) according to The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov)

Sources of host information Wilson et al. (1994) and citations (see esp. Kramer, 1973; Goeden and Ricker 1974a, b; 1975; 1986, 1989), Calvert et al. 1987).

Recognition

Among North American taxa, Stobaera is distinctive in having flattened antennae, a cream-colored body, a bicolored parallel-sided frons (bowed in S. pallida) with the median carina forked at the fastigium, and patterned wings.  The most similar genus in North America is Bostaera, which (among other differences) has a much broader frons with the median carina conspicuously forked below the fastigium.  Neoperkinsiella and the introduced Perkinsiella also have flattened antennae.  Both are larger with different genitalia.  In Neoperkinsiella, there are a pair of processes on segment 10 and the shape of the parameres are quite different.  Perkinsiella has the median carina of the frons forked below the fastigium and has processes on the ventral margin of the opening of the pygofer.  There is also at least one undescribed genus that I am aware of from South and Central America with flattened antennae with a similar build to Stobaera.

Species of Stobaera can be identified with Kramer (1973).  Most species are best identified by the male genitalia, but al least some of them can be identified by females based on range and color patterns, although Central American female specimens can present difficulties.

Stobaera concinna (note vitta on mesothorax)

Stobaera concinna

Stobaera granulosa

Stobaera pallida

Stobaera tricarinata

Molecular resources:

At this time, neither Genbank nor BOLD provide sequence data for this genus. Five species (Stobaera caldwelli, S. concinna, S. granulosa, S. pallida, and S. tricarniata) were sequenced for 18S, 28S, CO1, WG in Urban et al. (2010).

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Selected References

Calvert, P. D., S. W. Wilson and J. H. Tsai. 1987. Stobaera concinna (Homoptera: Delphacidae): Field Biology, laboratory rearing and descriptions of immature stages. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 95(1): 91-98

Crawford, D. L. 1914a. A contribution toward a monograph of the homopterous insects of the family Delphacidae of North and South America. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 46:557-640, plus 6 plates.

Fennah, R. G. 1959. Delphacidae from the Lesser Antilles (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology 8: 245-265

Goeden, R.D. and D.W. Ricker. 1974a. The phytophagous insect fauna of the ragweed, Ambrosia acanthicarpa, in southern California. Environmental Entomology 3: 827-834.

Goeden, R.D. and D.W. Ricker. 1974b. The phytophagous insect fauna of the ragweed, Ambrosia chamissonis, in southern California. Environmental Entomology 3: 835-839.

Goeden, R.D. and D.W. Ricker. 1975. The phytophagous insect fauna of the ragweed, Ambrosia confertiflora, in southern California. Environmental Entomology 4: 301-306.

Goeden, R.D. and D.W. Ricker. 1976a. The phytophagous insect fauna of the ragweed, Ambrosia dumosa, in southern California. Environmental Entomology 5: 45-50.

Goeden, R.D. and D.W. Ricker. 1976b. The phytophagous insect fauna of the ragweed, Ambrosia chenopodiifolia, A. eriocentra, and A. ilicifolia southern California. Environmental Entomology 5: 923-930.

Goeden, R.D. and D.W. Ricker. 1976c. The phytophagous insect fauna of the ragweed, Ambrosia psilostachya, in southern California. Environmental Entomology 4: 1169-1177.

Goeden, R.D. and D.W. Ricker. 1986a. The phytophagous insect fauna of the desert shrub Hymenoclea salsola in southern California. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 79: 39-47.

Goeden, R.D. and D.W. Ricker. 1986b. The phytophagous insect faunas of the two most common native Cirsium thistles, C. californicum and C. proteanum, in southern California. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 79: 953-962.

Kramer, J. P. 1973. Revision of the American planthoppers of the genus Stobaera (Homoptera: Delphacidae) with new distributional data and host plant records. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 75: 379-402.

McClay, A. S. 1983. Biology and host-specificity of Stobaera concinna (Stal) (Homoptera: Delphacidae), a potential biocontrol agent for Parthenium hysterophorus L. Folia Entomologica Mexicana 56: 21-30.

Muir, F.A.G. 1926b. Contributions to our knowledge of South American Fulgoroidea (Homoptera). Part I. The Family Delphacidae. Experiment Station of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association, Entomological Series, Bulletin 18:1-51, plates 1-5.

Palmer, W. A. 1993. On the host range of the delphacid planthopper Stobaera pallida Osborn (Homoptera). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 95(2): 241-244.

Reimer, N. J. and R. D. Goeden. 1981. Descriptions of immature stages of Stobaera tricarniata (Say) (Hemiptera-Homoptera: Delphacidae). Pan-Pacific Entomologist 57:4 29-433.

Reimer, N. J. and R. D. Goeden. 1981. Life history of the delphacid planthopper Stobaera tricarniata (Say) on western ragweed, Ambrosia psilostachya DeCandolle, in southern California (Hemiptera-Homoptera: Delphacidae). Pan-Pacific Entomologist 58(2): 105-108.