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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies (Hemiptera) » True Hoppers (Auchenorrhyncha) » Cicadas, Spittlebugs, Leafhoppers, and Treehoppers (Cicadomorpha) » Leafhoppers and Treehoppers (Membracoidea) » Typical Leafhoppers (Cicadellidae) » Microleafhoppers (Typhlocybinae) » Typhlocybini » Empoa

Genus Empoa

Classification · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Range · Food · Remarks · See Also · Works Cited
Hopper 82 - Empoa rubricola Which Empoa?? - Empoa Pennsylvania Leafhopper - Empoa gillettei Pennsylvania Leafhopper for ID - Empoa Pennsylvania Leafhopper - Empoa gillettei Pennsylvania Leafhopper for ID - Empoa rubricola Empoa vestita Empoa albicans
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hemiptera (True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies)
Suborder Auchenorrhyncha (True Hoppers)
Infraorder Cicadomorpha (Cicadas, Spittlebugs, Leafhoppers, and Treehoppers)
Superfamily Membracoidea (Leafhoppers and Treehoppers)
Family Cicadellidae (Typical Leafhoppers)
Subfamily Typhlocybinae (Microleafhoppers)
Tribe Typhlocybini
Genus Empoa
Explanation of Names
Empoa Fitch, 1851
Numbers
16 spp. (all in the nominate subgenus) in our area, 24 spp. in 3 subgenera total(1)
Empoa albicans (Walsh, 1862)
Empoa apicata (McAtee, 1926
Empoa aureotecta (Sanders & DeLong, 1917)
Empoa bella (Hamilton, 1983)
Empoa casta (McAtee, 1926)
Empoa gillettei (Van Duzee, 1917)
Empoa latifasciata (Christian, 1953)
Empoa platana (Christian, 1953)
Empoa querci (Fitch, 1851)
Empoa rubricola (Christian, 1954)
Empoa saffrana (McAtee, 1926)
Empoa scripta (McAtee, 1919)
Empoa spinosa (Beamer, 1943)
Empoa unifasciata (Hamilton, 1983)
Empoa venusta (McAtee, 1926)
Empoa vestita (McAtee, 1926)
Range
the nominate subgenus is confined to the US & Canada, two other subgenera in E. Palaearctic(1)
Food
The host plant is often needed for identification of members of this genus (for the specialists):
Empoa albicans: Betula spp. (birches)
Empoa apicata: Ostrya virginiana (American hophornbeam)
Empoa aureotecta: Quercus spp. (oaks)
Empoa bella: Alnus incana rugosa (speckled alder)
Empoa casta: Quercus spp. (oaks), Ulmus americana (American elm)
Empoa gillettei: polyphagous; trees in 6+ families
Empoa latifasciata: Alnus spp. (alders)
Empoa platana: Platanus spp. (sycamores)
Empoa querci: Quercus spp. (oaks)
Empoa rubricola: Quercus rubra (northern red oak)
Empoa saffrana: Polyphagous. Recorded on Fagus grandifolia (American beech), Ostrya virginiana (American hophornbeam), and Ulmus americana (American elm)
Empoa scripta: Betula occidentalis (water birch) and B. papyrifera (paper birch)
Empoa spinosa: Betula glandulifera (bog birch) and B. glandulosa (American dwarf birch)
Empoa unifasciata: ?
Empoa venusta: Tilia americana (American basswood), Ulmus sp. (elm)
Empoa vestita: Ulmus spp. (elms)
Remarks
"[...] most species cannot be separated based on genitalia, only albicans and spinosa have distinct genitalia. We have limited barcode data, but what we do have suggests little or no differentiation within the gillettei complex at least. However, there is supposedly some association of the different colour forms with specific hosts. I think if the species are all truly distinct they must be very recently diverged." - J. Kits pers. comm. to S. Hendrix
See Also
Ossiannilssonola


Erythroneura


Alebra


Typhlocyba


Zonocyba
Works Cited
1.Dmitriev D.A. (2003-) 3I interactive keys and taxonomic databases
Contributed by Kyle Kittelberger on 14 February, 2018 - 11:09am
Additional contributions by Mike Quinn, v belov, antarctica
Last updated 6 January, 2025 - 3:07pm

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