Species Graphocephala aurora

Tettigonia aurora (Baker, 1898)

Tettigonia delicata (Fowler, 1900)

Graphocephala aurora (Baker, 1898)

An aptly named and distinctively marked species, it's one of the most colourful members of the genus north of Mexico. The wings are mostly a white when young, with faint gradients of colour varying from violet to green. These colours appear bolder in older individuals and dead specimens. The wingtips can be somewhat ochraceous to a vibrant red. The wings are boldly marked with deep red stripes, which often appear black to the naked eye. The markings on the head are distinctive and are darker than the stripes on the wings and pronotum. The scutellum is often a vibrant yellow.

Arizona, Mexico

polyphagous. found on Eupatorium adenophora (sticky snakeroot) in Mexico.

Based on misassociated specimens on the website Sharpshooter Leafhoppers of the World, there has been some confusion on how to differentiate this species from G. dohrni. This confusion likely originates from (Oman, 1949), where G. aurora was listed as a jr. synonym of G. dohrni. The two species have distinctly different markings and only aurora is found in the United States.

With G. dohrni and a possibly undescribed species in Mexico, this likely represents our sole representative of an undescribed genus.