Family Derbidae

Subfamily Otiocerinae

Tribe Otiocerini Muir, 1917

 

Genus Anotia Kirby, 1821

 

Type species: Anotia bonnetii Kirby, 1821.

Synonyms: 

  = Amalopota Van Duzee, 1889 (Type species Amalopota uhleri Van Duzee 1889); syn. by Fennah 1952: 152.

 

Distribution: Widespread in the Nearctic (esp. south) and Central America. 

Recognized species

By my count, 19 species in Nearctic and Central America.

1 Anotia bonnetii Kirby, 1821  - USA: CT, FL, GA, IL, KS, NC, NJ, NY, OH, TX; CAN: ON; Mexico (Guerrero)

     = Anotia ruficollis Fowler, 1904: 78; syn. by Ball 1928: 197.

2 Anotia burnetii Fitch, 1856 - USA: IL, IN, MS, NC, NY, PA, TX; CAN: ON

3 Anotia caliginosa Ball, 1937 - USA: AZ

4 Anotia fitchi (Van Duzee, 1893) - USA: FL, GA, IL, KS, MO, MS, NC, NY, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN; Cuba; Mexico (Tabasco); Panama

     = Amalopota fitchi Van Duzee, 1893: 280.
     = Anotia fitchi (Van Duzee, 1893); comb. by implication Fennah 1952: 152.

     = Anotia venustula Fowler, 1904: 78; syn. by Ball, 1928: 197.

    Anotia fitchi trinitatis Fennah, 1952: 159 - Trinidad

5 Anotia formaster Fennah, 1952: 160 - Trinidad

6 Anotia invalida Fowler, 1904: 79 - Guatemala, Panama

7 Anotia kirkaldyi Ball, 1902b - USA: DE, IA, IL, KS, MS, NC, OH, PA, VA; CAN: ON

8 Anotia lineata Ball, 1937 - USA: AZ
9 Anotia mcateei (Dozier, 1928) - USA: IL, MS

     = Amalopota mcateei Dozier, 1928: 141-142.
     = Anotia mcateei (Dozier, 1928); comb. by implication Fennah 1952: 152.

10 Anotia marginicornis Fowler, 1904: 77 - Guatemala

11 Anotia pellucida Fowler, 1904: 77 - Mexico (Veracruz, as "Orizaba")

12 Anotia punctata Metcalf, 1938 - Panama

13 Anotia robertsonii Fitch, 1856 - USA: AR, DE, FL, NC, NJ, OK, PA

14 Anotia rubrinoda Fennah, 1952: 159 - Trinidad

15 Anotia sanguinea Fennah, 1952: 157 - Trinidad

16 Anotia smithi Fowler, 1904: 77 - Mexico (Guerrero)

17 Anotia tenella Fowler, 1904: 78 - Mexico (Guerrero)

18 Anotia uhleri (Van Duzee, 1889) - USA: FL, IL, IN, MN, MO, MS, NC, NY, OH, RI, TN; CAN: ON, QC
     = Amalopota uhleri Van Duzee, 1889: 178.
     = Anotia uhleri (Van Duzee, 1889); comb. by implication Fennah 1952: 152.

19 Anotia westwoodi Fitch, 1856 - USA: DC, DE, IL, KS, MD, MO, NC, NJ, NY, OH, PA, TN; CAN: ON

 

Note:

Interamma septentrionalis Anufriev, 1968 (from the Russian far east) was moved to Amalopota septentrionalis (Anufriev, 1968) by Emeljanov 1999 (full citation below).  The placement of this species in the invalid genus Amalopota needs review, particularly since it implies that Anotia should include Old World members.

Economic Importance:

Limited.

 

Known host plants: 

Derbidae are known or assumed to feed on fungal hyphae as immatures.  The significance of adult host associations is unclear.

Anotia fitchi - Saccharum officinarum L. (sugarcane), Spartina pectinata Bosc ex Link (prairie cordgrass, Poaceae), Carya (Hickory, Juglandaceae)

Anotia uhleri - Acer (Maple, Aceraceae)

Hosts from Wilson et al. 1994; plant names from USDA PLANTS or Tropicos.

Recognition:

Pale, fragile forms; wings greatly exceeding the abdomen; frons extremely compressed; pustules along claval vein; clavus open, antennae without appendages, head projecting in front of eyes for distance similar to width of eyes, head roundly triangularly pointed up at 45 degree angle, costal margin of wing without appendage.

Eastern species can be identified in Bartlett et al. 2011.

Species in this genus are recognized largely by the color pattern of the wings and head.  This can present challenges because the color pattern is not fully developed in freshly emerged (i.e., teneral) adults (and the color fades in old specimens), and it is not entirely clear how much the color pattern varies in adults.  Also, to date, genitalia have not been described for any of these species, so it is possible that not all described species north of Mexico are 'good' species, or that there are species in addition to those currently described.  Some species are incompletely characterized. Neotropical species are undoubtedly more diverse than currently described (for example, Costa Rican species photographed by Gernot Kunz).

Key to eastern species from Metcalf (1923). Amalapota is a synonym now.  Couplet 188 does not seem to work well since westwoodi & kirkaldyi also can have spots. If I am not mistaken Anotia bonnetii does not have markings on the head in lateral view, whereas westwoodi & kirkaldyi do.

 

Anotia bonnetii (photographs by Kimberley Shropshire, University of Delaware)

 

Anotia burnetii

Anotia caliginosa

 

Anotia fitchi

Anotia kirkaldyi

Anotia lineata

 

Anotia robertsonii

Anotia uhleri

 

Anotia westwoodi

This appears to be an Anotia to me, unless I am missing the projection on the costal margin of the wing and it is Sayiana (photo by Mark de Silva from the Island of Mustique in the Grenadines); not sure if this is a described species.

 

This genus on bugguide.  Note: Some of the images of Anotia on Bugguide are misidentified to species (and one is currently in the wrong genus).

 

Collecting

Found infrequently at lights or by sweeping, especially in cool, wet situations.  Adults are assumed to remain near habitat for immatures.

 

Molecular resources: As of this writing, there are appears to be no molecular data for this genus on Genbank; Barcode of Life has data for 2 species (A. bonetti & A. uhleri).

 

Selected references:

Anufriev, G. A. 1968. Cicads of the family derbidae (Homoptera, Auchenorrhyncha) in the fauna of the USSR. Entomologicheskoe Obozrenie 47(1): 133-146.

Ball, E. D. 1902. New genera and species of N. A. Fulgoridae. Canadian Entomologist 34: 259-266.

Ball, E. D. 1937. Some new Fulgoridae from Western United States. Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society 32: 171-183.

Bartlett, C. R., E. R. Adams, and A. T. Gonzon. 2011. Planthoppers of Delaware (Hemiptera, Fulgoroidea), excluding Delphacidae, with species incidence from adjacent States. ZooKeys 83: 1-42.

Dozier, H. L. 1928a [dated 1922 or 1926]. The Fulgoridae or planthoppers of Mississippi, including those of possible occurrence. Technical Bulletin of the Mississippi Agricultural Experiment Station 14: 1-152.

Emeljanov, A. F. 1999. A new genus for Heronax candidus Anufriev and some taxonomic remarks concerning the Far East Derbidae (Homoptera, Cicadina). Zoosystematica Rossica 8(1): 120.

Fennah, R. G. 1952. On the generic classification of Derbidae (Fulgoroidea), with descriptions of new Neotropical species. Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London 103(4): 109-170.

Fitch, A. 1856. Third report on noxious and other insects of the State of New York. Transactions of the New-York State Agricultural Society 16: 315-490.

Fowler, W. W. 1904. Order Rhynchota. Suborder Hemiptera-Homoptera. (Continued). Biologia Centrali-Americana 1: 57-76. 77-84.

Kirby, W. F. 1821. The characters of Otiocerus and Anotia, two new genera of Hemipterous insects belonging to the family of Cicadiadae : with a description of several species. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London (Second series) Zoology 13: 12-23.

Metcalf, Z. P. 1938. The Fulgorina of Barro Colorado and other parts of Panama. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard Coll. 82: 277-423. [available from http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org]

Van Duzee, E. P. 1889. Observations on some northern Derbidae. (Conclusion). Canadian Entomologist 21: 176-179.

Van Duzee, E. P. 1893. New North American Homoptera. -N°.VI. Canadian Entomologist 25: 280-285.

Wilson, S. W., C. Mitter, R. F. Denno, and M. R. Wilson.1994. Evolutionary patterns of host plant use by delphacid planthoppers and their relatives. In: R. F. Denno and T. J. Perfect, (eds.). Planthoppers: Their Ecology and Management. Chapman and Hall, New York. Pp. 7-45 & Appendix