Tribe Stenocotini Kirkaldy, 1906

Stenocotis subvittata Stål = S. depressa (Walker), type species of the type genus of Stenocotini.

© Copyright D. Rentz, Kuranda, Queensland.

Museums

Regional Maps

• Stenocotinae Kirkaldy, G.W. 1906. Leafhoppers and their natural enemies. Bulletin of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association Experimental Station Entomological Series 1(9): 271-479 [368].

  Type genus:

   Stenocotis Stål, 1854.

Introduction

This is an endemic Australian tribe associated with the dominant tree genus Eucalyptus l'Héretier (Myrtaceae). Most species live on the trunks, sheltering under bark by day and feeding at night. One exception is the highly variable, widespread and common species Stenocotis depressa (Walker) which can often be seen active on bare tree trunks during the day. One species, Smicrocotis obscura Kirkaldy, has been reported feeding at night and being attended by ants of the genus Camponotus Mayr which appears to be an early stage in ant association (Shcherbakov 2000). The tribe includes seven genera, five of which are monotypic with Kyphocotis Kirkaldy with four species and Smicrocotis Kirkaldy with three. The tribe was treated by a series of papers by Evans (see Evans 1966 for summary) who treated it as a tribe of the subfamily Ledrinae but recent work by Dietrich et al. (2001) and Jones & Deitz (2009) indicated that its true affinities lie with the Tartessinae.

Diagnosis

This subfamily is characterized by the peculiar shape of the vertex and by the ocelli being placed in cavities on the anterior margin (viewed dorsally) of the head; the posterior tibiae are quadricarinate with 6 strong spiniferous spurs on the outer margin, shortly but strongly spined on the upper margin, and feebly bristled on the others (Kirkaldy 1906).

ID Keys

Fletcher, M.J. (2009 and updates). Key to the leafhoppers and treehoppers of Australia and neighbouring areas (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha). http://www1.dpi.nsw.gov.au/keys/leafhop/index.html [accessed: 21.xi.2011]

Diagnosis References

Kirkaldy, G.W. 1906. Leafhoppers and their natural enemies. Bulletin of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association Experimental Station Entomological Series 1(9): 271-479 [368]

General References

Dietrich, C.H., Rakitov, R.A., Holmes, J.L. & Black W.C. 2001. Phylogeny of the major lineages of Membracoidea (Insecta: Hemiptera: Cicadomorpha) based on 28S rDNA sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 18(2): 293–305 [302–303]

Jones, J.R. & Deitz, L.L. 2009. Phylogeny and systematics of the leafhopper subfamily Ledrinae (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae). Zootaxa (2186): 1–120 [66–67]

Shcherbakov, D.E., Fletcher, M.J. & Day, M.F. 2000. Ant attendance and nocturnal feeding of the leafhopper Smicrocotis obscura Kirkaldy (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Ledrinae). Australian Entomologist 27(2): 39-43

History of changes