Family Derbidae

Subfamily Otiocerninae

Tribe Otiocerini Muir, 1917

Genus Otiocerus Kirby, 1821

Type species (in original combination): Otiocerus stollii Kirby 1821.

Synonyms: 

    = Cobax Germar, 1821 (Type species Cobax winthemi Germar, 1821, junior syn. of Otiocerus stollii Kirby 1821); syn. by Latreille 1829: 216.

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

Recognized species

There are currently 17 species recognized in this genus.  Varietal forms are probably color variations, but the status of these taxa have not been recently examined.

1 Otiocerus abbotii Kirby, 1821 - USA: CT, FL, GA, IL, IN, MN, MO, NC, NY, OH; CAN: ON
2 Otiocerus amyotii Fitch, 1856 - USA: CT, DC, GA, IA, IL, KS, MA, NC, NJ, NY, OH, PA; CAN: ON, QC
3 Otiocerus coquebertii Kirby, 1821 - USA: CT, DE, GA, IA, IL, IN, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, TN, TX, WV; CAN: NB, NS, ON, PE, QC
   Otiocerus coquebertii var. rubidus Osborn, 1938 - USA: OH
4 Otiocerus francilloni Kirby, 1821 - USA: DE, FL, GA, IL, MS, NJ, NY, OH
5 Otiocerus kirbyii Fitch, 1851 - USA: AL, MD?, MS, NC, NY, TX; CAN: NS, ON
6 Otiocerus reaumurii Kirby, 1821 - USA: DE, GA, IA, NY, OH, TX
7 Otiocerus signoretii Fitch, 1856: 349 -
8 Otiocerus stollii Kirby, 1821 - USA: AR, FL, GA, IA, IL, LA, MD, MO, MS, NC, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, TX; CAN: ON; Brazil?
9 Otiocerus wolfii Kirby, 1821 - USA: AR, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, KS, MD, MO, MS, NC, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, TN, TX; CAN: ON
   = Otiocerus wolfei Kirby, 1821: 19; missp. by Maw et al. 2000: 86.
   Otiocerus wolfi var. nubilus McAtee 1926 - USA: IL

Neotropical
1 Otiocerus breviceps Fowler, 1904: 76 - Panama
2 Otiocerus fontis Fennah, 1952 - St. Lucia
3 Otiocerus lyncaeste Fennah, 1952 - Trinidad
4 Otiocerus regalis Fennah, 1952 - St. Vincent
5 Otiocerus schoenherri Stal, 1859 - Puerto Rico
6 Otiocerus interruptus Fowler, 1904: 75 - Guatemala

7 Otiocerus rubescens Fowler, 1905: 76 - Mexico (Tabasco, Veracruz)
8 Otiocerus venustus Fowler, 1904: 75 - Guatemala, Panama

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.

Otiocerus coquebertii - Fagus (Beach, Fagaceae), Quercus (Oak, Fagaceae), Acer (maple, Aceraceae)

Otiocerus stollii - Quercus

Otiocerus wolfii - Acer, Fagus

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

Recognition:

Mostly white or yellow-themed, fragile forms; wings greatly exceeding the abdomen; frons extremely compressed, head strongly projecting; clavus open, antennae with appendages; in lateral view, dorsum of head straight (vs. sinuate in Apache) dorsal margin of wings nearly straight, demarcation between vertex and frons obtusely angular (vs. rounded in Shellenius).

Teneral specimens do not have fully developed color patterns.

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

Key to eastern species from Metcalf (1923) (Note: includes Apache & Shellenius)

Otiocerus wolfii (photograph by Doug Tallamy, University of Delaware)

Otiocerus amyotti (photographs by Kimberley Shropshire, University of Delaware)

Otiocerus coquebertii

Otiocerus francilloni

Otiocerus reaumurii

Otiocerus prob. kirbyii

Otiocerus stollii

Otiocerus wolfii

Bugguide has Otiocerus here (but as of this writing, it includes Apache in error and a few of the identifications appear to not be right); Otiocerus is here on Discover Life.

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 3 species (Otiocerus coquebertii, O. signoretti, O. wolfii).

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.

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.

Stål, C. 1859. Novae quaedam Fulgorinorum formae speciesque insigniores. Berliner Entomologische Zeitschrift. Berlin 3: 313-327.

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