treehopper

(Xantholobus muticus)

Conservation Status
IUCN Red List

not listed

NatureServe

not listed

Minnesota

not listed

 
treehopper (Xantholobus muticus)
Photo by Alfredo Colon
 
Description

Xantholobus muticus is a common and widespread, relatively large, typical treehopper. It occurs in the United States from Massachusetts to North Carolina, west to Minnesota and eastern Texas. It is the most common member of the genus Xantholobus.

Adults are active in May and June. They are found in and near deciduous and mixed forests where oaks are present. They feed on the plant juices of at least four species of large oak. In Minnesota this includes just white oak. Beyond host plant preferences, nothing is known of the biology or life history of this species.

Adult females are ¼ to 516 (7.0 to 8.0 mm) in length. Males are a little smaller, ¼ (6.8 to 7.1 mm) in length. The body is robust. The coloration is variable. The literature describes the base pale color of the head and pronotum as yellow. Scores of photos available on BugGuide and iNaturalist show the pale base color being grayish, pinkish, bluish, brownish, whitish, or yes, yellowish. The dark marks can be brown, orangish brown, yellowish brown, reddish brown, or black. The dark markings are sometimes bordered with black.

The head is roughly triangular. It is pale with a dark band on each side. It is coarsely pitted (punctate) with brown punctures. There are two large compound eyes and two small simple eyes (ocelli). The compound eyes are brown and round. The ocelli are brown and distinct. They are the same distance from each other as they are from the compound eyes. The antennae are short and bristle-like. They rise low on the face, in front of the compound eyes. The plate on the face above the upper lip (clypeus) is large.

The plate on the first segment of the thorax (pronotum) is large, extending far back over the abdomen. It is coarsely and densely punctate. It has a large, raised crest, and a short, sharply pointed tip. Viewed from the rear, the crest is distinctly inflated, “bulbous”. The pronotum is dark with pale transverse bands. The lateral margins are often pale. Two pale bands, one on each side, extend forward from the lateral margins, converge just behind the midpoint, and continue as one line forward to the head.

The forewings (hemelytra) are lightly tinged smoky brown. They are usually dark at the base, and they are often dark at the tip. The veins are dark at the base and in the middle.

The legs are orangish brown.

 

Size

Female total length: ¼ to 516(7.0 to 8.0 mm)

Male total length: ¼ (6.8 to 7.1 mm)

 

Similar Species

 
Habitat

 

Biology

Season

One generation per year: May and June

 

Behavior

 

 

Life Cycle

 

 

Larva Food

 

 

Adult Food

White oak

Distribution

Distribution Map

 

Sources

24, 27, 29, 30, 82, 83.

12/30/2024    
     

Occurrence

 

Taxonomy

Order

Hemiptera (true bugs, hoppers, aphids, and allies)

Suborder

Auchenorrhyncha (true hoppers)

Infraorder

Cicadomorpha (spittlebugs, cicadas, leafhoppers and treehoppers)

Superfamily

Membracoidea (leafhoppers and treehoppers)

Family

Membracidae (typical treehoppers)

Subfamily

Smiliinae

Tribe

Smiliini

Genus

Xantholobus

   

Subordinate Taxa

 

   

Synonyms

Cyrtolobus muticus

Membracis mutica

Xantholobus mutica

   

Common Names

This species has no common name. The common name of the family Membracidae is typical treehoppers, and it is applied here for convenience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Clypeus

On insects, a hardened plate on the face above the upper lip (labrum).

 

Hemelytron

The forewing of true bugs (Order Hemiptera), thickened at the base and membranous at the tip. Plural: hemelytra.

 

Ocellus

Simple eye; an eye with a single lens. Plural: ocelli.

 

Pronotum

The exoskeletal plate on the upper side of the first segment of the thorax of an insect.

 

Punctate

Dotted with pits (punctures), translucent sunken glands, or colored spots of pigment.

 

 

 

 

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Alfredo Colon

treehopper (Xantholobus muticus)   treehopper (Xantholobus muticus)
     
treehopper (Xantholobus muticus)   treehopper (Xantholobus muticus)
     
treehopper (Xantholobus muticus)    
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Alfredo Colon
7/7/2024

Location: Albany, NY

treehopper (Xantholobus muticus)

Alfredo Colon
6/12/2024

Location: Albany, NY

treehopper (Xantholobus muticus)

Alfredo Colon
6/11/2024

Location: Albany, NY

treehopper (Xantholobus muticus)

Alfredo Colon
6/3/2021

Location: Woodbury, MN

treehopper (Xantholobus muticus)
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Created: 12/30/2024

Last Updated:

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