Family Tropiduchidae

Subfamily Tambiniinae Kirkaldy, 1907

Tribe Tangiini Melichar, 1914

Genus Pelitropis Van Duzee, 1908

Type species (in original combination): Pelitropis rotulata Van Duzee, 1908.

Synonyms: None.

Distribution: Florida and the Caribbean.

Recognized species

There are 4 species currently in the genus:

Pelitropis cazieri Metcalf 1954b: 9 - Bahamas
Pelitropis haitiana Fennah 1965: 97 - Haiti
Pelitropis insularis Schmidt 1932: 38 - Cuba
Pelitropis rotulata Van Duzee 1908: 474 - USA: AL, FL, MS, NC, SC; Cuba(?)

Economic Importance:

Limited.

Known host plants: 

Pelitropis rotulata - Ilex (Aquifoliaceae), Baccharis halimifolia L. (Asteraceae), Elaeagnus multiflora Thunb. (Elaeagnaceae, cherry silverberry), Lyonia sp. (staggerbush), Rhododendron sp., Vaccinium corymbosum L. (highbush blueberry), Vaccinium sp. (Ericaceae), Quercus phellos L. (Fagaceae), Liquidambar styraciflua L. (Hamamelidaceae), Hypericum edisonianum (Small) P. Adams & N. Robson (Arcadian St. Johnswort, Clusiaceae [was Hypericaceae]), Persea borbonia (L.) Spreng. (redbay; Lauraceae), Myrica cerifera L. (wax myrtle, Myricaceae), Ligustrum amurense Carrière (Amur privet; Oleaceae), Coccoloba uvifera (L.) L. (seagrape, Polygonaceae), Prunus serotina Ehrh. (black cherr), Pyrus communis L. (common pear, Rosaceae), Ulmus alata Michx. (winged elm; Ulmaceae), Parthenocissus quinquefolia (L.) Planch. (Virginia creeper), Vitis rotundifolia Michx. (muscadine, Vitaceae)

Hosts from Wilson and Wheeler (1984); plant names from USDA PLANTS or Tropicos.

Recognition:

Distinctive among US fauna.

Median carina of frons absent; veins of forewings spotted with brown, lateral fields of pronotum narrower than medial fields.

Pelitropis rotulata (All photos by Kimberley Shropshire, Department of Entomology, University of Delaware)

Pelitropis haitiana

Pelitropis is here on Bugguide.

Collecting

Most often at lights (sometimes beating).

Molecular resources: As of this writing, data for Pelitropis is not available on Genbank, but data is on Barcode of life.

Selected references:

Fennah, R. G. 1945. Tropiduchidae and Kinnaridae from the Greater Antilles (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea). Psyche 52: 119-138.

Fennah, R.G. 1949. On a small collection of Fulgoroidea (Homoptera) from the Virgin Islands. Psyche 56(2): 51-65.

Fennah, R. G. 1965. New Species of Fulgoroidea (Homoptera) from the West Indies. Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London 117(4): 95-126.

Fennah, R. G. 1971. Fulgoroidea from the Cayman Islands and adjacent Areas. Journal of Natural History 5: 299-342.

Melichar. L. 1914f. Monographie der Tropiduchinen (Homoptera). Verhandlungen des Naturforschenden Vereines in Brünn 1914:1-145.

Metcalf, Z. P. 1954a. General Catalogue of the Hemiptera. Fascicle IV, Fulgoroidea, Part 11 Tropiduchidae. North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Metcalf, Z. P. 1954b. Homoptera from the Bahama Islands. American Museum Novitates 1698: 1-46.

Metcalf, Z. P. and S. C. Bruner. 1930. Cuban Fulgorina. 1. The families Tropiduchidae and Acanaloniidae. Psyche 37:395-424.

O'Brien, L. B. 1992. The Tropiduchidae of the United States (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea). Annals of the Entomological Society of America 85(2): 121-126.

Schmidt, E. 1932. Neue und bekannte Zikadengattungen und Arten der neuen Welt . (Hemipt.-Homopt.). Entomologische Zeitung. Herausgegeben von dem entomologischen Vereine zu Stettin 93: 35-54.

Stål, C. 1859. Hemiptera. Species novas descripsit. Fregatten Eugenies Resa. Arkiv for Zoologi 4: 219-298.

Van Duzee, E. P. 1908. Studies in North American Fulgoridae. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 1907: 467-498.

Van Duzee, E. P. 1917. Catalogue of the Hemiptera of America North of Mexico (excepting the Aphididae, Coccidae and Aleurodidae). University of California Publications, Technical Bulletins, vol. 2. University of California Press, Berkeley, pp. i-xiv, 1-902.

Walker, F. 1851. List of the specimens of Homopterous Insects in the collection of the British Museum. British Museum, London. 2: 261-636.

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.

Wilson, S. W. and A. G. Wheeler Jr. 1984. Pelitropis rotulata (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea: Tropiduchidae) Host plants and descriptions of third, fourth and fifth instars. Florida Entomolologist 67: 164 168.