Family Derbidae

Subfamily Otiocerninae

Tribe Otiocerini Muir, 1917

Genus Apache Kirkaldy, 1901a

Type species (in original combination): Hynnis rosea Burmeister 1835, jr. syn. of Otiocerus degeerii Kirby 1821.

Synonyms: 

    = Hynnis Burmeister, 1835 (Type species Hynnis rosea Burmeister 1835, junior syn. of Otiocerus degeerii Kirby 1821); syn. by Schaum 1850: 70.

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

Recognized species

There are 2 species recognized in Apache:

1 Apache californicum Wilkey, 1963 - USA: CA
2 Apache degeerii (Kirby, 1821) - USA: CT, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, LA, MA, MD, ME, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK,PA, RI, TN, TX, WA, WV; CAN: AB, BC, NS, ON, QC; Cuba

Economic Importance:

Limited.

Known host plants: 

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

Apache degeerii - Fagus (Beach, Fagaceae), Quercus (nymphs under bark) (Oak, Fagaceae), Acer (maple, Aceraceae), Carya (Hickory, Juglandaceae)

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

Recognition:

Pink or red-themed, fragile forms; wings greatly exceeding the abdomen; frons extremely compressed, head strongly projecting; pustules along claval vein; clavus open, antennae with appendages; in lateral view, dorsum of head sinuate and dorsal margin of wings in repose sharply angled dorsal in apical third.

Features purporting to separate the species are annotated in Wilkey (1963) (I'll annotate them later).

Apache californicum (photographs by Kimberley Shropshire, University of Delaware)

Apache degeerii

Bugguide (as of this writing) has this genus included in Otiocerus in error, but Apache degeerii is here.

Collecting

Found infrequently at lights; occasionally found overwintering in logs. 

Molecular resources: As of this writing, there are appears to be no molecular data for this genus on Genbank; Barcode of Life has data on Apache degeeri (under Otiocerus degeeri).

Selected references:

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.

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.

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.

Kirkaldy, G. W. 1901a. Miscellanea Rhynchotalia. The Entomologist 34: 5-6.

Wilkey, R. F. 1963. A new species of Apache from California (Homoptera: Derbidae). Pan Pacific Entomologist 39: 98 102.

Wilson, S. W. 1982b. Description of the fifth instar of Apache degeerii (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea: Derbidae). Great Lakes Entomologist 15(1): 35-36.

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