A new species of the spittlebug genus Clastoptera Germar (Hemiptera: Cercopoidea: Clastopteridae) on Florida oaks

Authors

Vinton Thompson, American Museum of Natural HistoryFollow
Susan E. Halbert, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer ServicesFollow
Mark Rothschild, Florida State Collection of ArthropodsFollow

Date of this Version

9-25-2020

Citation

Thompson V, Halbert SE, Rothschild M. 2020. A new species of the spittlebug genus Clastoptera Germar (Hemiptera: Cercopoidea: Clastopteridae) on Florida oaks. Insecta Mundi 0796: 1–16.

Comments

Copyright held by the author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons, Attribution Non-Commercial License,

Abstract

Over the past decade, a previously unrecorded spittlebug of the genus Clastoptera Germar (Hemip­tera: Cercopoidea: Clastopteridae) has been observed in abundance on oaks (Quercus L. spp., Fagaceae) in several Florida counties. We describe this spittlebug as a new species, Clastoptera querci Thompson, Halbert and Rothschild, new species, provide information on its life history, host plants and distribution, and place it in the context of other members of the genus. Clastoptera spp. can transmit Xylella fastidiosa Wells et al., a bacterial pathogen that causes bacterial leaf scorch associated with oak decline. Thus C. querci should be monitored as a possible vector of X. fastidiosa in oaks.