Carynota marmorata on American hazel (Corylus americana) catkinsCarynota marmorataon American hazel (Corylus americana) catkins
Carynota marmorata (marbled treehopper) is a treehopper in the Membracides. This one caught my attention when I was getting ready to trim back a hazel bush that was extending a little too far into the driveway. I rushed back to the house, got my camera and tripod, and began shooting away.
Description
The high and rounded pronotal (the first segment of the thorax) crest is one of the first things that stand out on this species. The coloration of Carynota marmorata is variable but always a shade of chestnut-brown mottled with irregular greenish white speckling over the pronotum (the dorsal plate of the prothorax). Individuals may vary in the amount of speckling, with some having more than others. There may also be broad, more connected pale yellow patches forming transverse bands across the pronotum.
The pronotum is sparsely pubescent and coarsely punctate. The triangular head is sparingly pubescent, finely punctate, and spotted with red and yellow patches. They have red to black eyes. The tegmina have noticeable veins and are smoky hyaline. The legs are rust-colored, while the underside of the body is chestnut. Adults measure 4 mm in width and 8 mm in length.
Betula papyriferaCorylus americanaAlnus incana
Habitat and host plants
Carynota marmorata feeds on trees and shrubs in the birch family (Betulaceae), including paper birch (Betula papyrifera), American hazel (Corylus americana), and tag alder (Alnus incana).
This hazel thicket in a mixed species (aspen, birch, spruce, fir) forest is habitat for Carynota marmorata.
This pale insect is Otiocerus francilloni, a planthopper in the family Derbidae, also known as “derbids”. I have only seen it once, and that was in 2018, when it landed on the corner of my house one night.
Taxonomy
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hemiptera (True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies)
The immature stages of Otiocerus francilloni, and those of all derbid planthoppers, feed on fungal hyphae growing in rotting wood rather than plant sap. Adult food sources of North American Otiocerus species are not known, but they have been found in association with oak, beech, and maple. The significance of these tree associations, if any, is uncertain.
Description
The wings of Otiocerus francilloni are pale with many dark spots between the veins. There is a dark, narrow, broken band on the wings and a black smudge mark on the sides of the head. The body is pale with spots on the abdomen.
A huge northern range extension
Otiocerus francilloni is reported from the following states: Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio. Finding it in Minnesota extends the known range by about 400 miles from the next nearest location in Illinois.
It seems unlikely that this species does not occur between Illinois and where I live in northern Minnesota. I hope someone is out there looking.
Female Ctenucha virginica resting on a foundation during the day.
The blue wasp moth, Ctenucha virginica, is another moth in the Arctiinae (Tiger and Lichen Moths), like the woolly bear or Isabella moth. And like the woolly bear moth, its fuzzy larvae also overwinter, feeding briefly in the spring before pupating. They just don’t get as much attention as the woolly bears do.
Ctenucha virginica showing the metallic blue abdomen. The feathery antennae indicate this is a male. The long projections on the antennae help it to detect pheromones that the females are giving off.
Description
The descriptions below are based on my observations of this moth.
The adult Ctenucha virginica moths are large (wingspan 38 to 52 mm) with dark black (brown in older individuals as scales wear off) forewings fringed with white patches and darker black patches near the base and angle. The underwings are black and fringed in white. The abdomen and thorax are metallic blue, and the head is bright orange with black eyes. The antennae and legs are black. The antennae of males are fringed and comb-like.
The metallic blue color of the thorax and abdomen and the orange head of Ctenucha virginica mimics some species of blue wasps and so may serve to deter predators.
The larvae are are black and covered by tufts of short, yellow and white hairs. There is a white line along the sides under the fuzz. The fuzzy hairs of some individuals may be white. The legs are pink, which helps to distinguish white forms from similar-looking fuzzy white caterpillars.
When and where to see the larvae
Spring is the best time to find blue wasp moth caterpillars when they have emerged from hibernation and are feeding. In some years, they can be quite abundant. I have observed the larvae feeding on grasses, sedges, and iris in the spring. The preferred larval habitat is graminoid-rich wetlands, but I’ve also seen them in old hayfields, especially in damp areas.
Once, I found a Ctenucha virginica caterpillar feeding on frost lichens (Physconia sp.) growing on a black ash tree. It had climbed about 6 feet up the tree to get to this lichen. Below the tree grew the caterpillar’s usual food plants: iris, manna grass, and Carex species.
Ctenucha virginica larva on sedge in a vernal pool. The pink legs and the white stripe are visible.Ctenucha virginica larva on a Diervilla lonicera stem near a wetland edge.Ctenucha virginica larva climbing a dock stem in an old hayfield.Pale form of larva Ctenucha virginica found in an old hayfield. The pink legs and the white stripe are visible.Ctenucha virginica feeding on frost lichens on a black ash tree.
Living in wetlands is not without dangers. In the spring, they may flood, and the caterpillars could drown. Their fuzzy hairs do help them to float, but eventually, these become waterlogged. One spring during flood season, as I was walking through a flooded sedge marsh, I found several dozen Ctenucha virginica caterpillars floating in the water. I collected each one and moved them to some sedge tussocks that stood above the water. I hope that helped them out.
A Ctenucha virginica caterpillar in a vernal pool. It is early spring (March 28, 2019), and some patches of ice are still present. The caterpillar seems unfazed by this. I moved it to drier ground anyway.
Pollinators
Ctenucha virginica moths are pollinators. Disguised in their wasp-like coloration, they fly during the day, nectaring at many kinds of flowers in upland and wetland sites.
Ctenucha virginica on Rudbeckia hirtaCtenucha virginica on Agastache foeniculumCtenucha virginica on Heracleum maximum
They also drink dew from plant leaves. The one pictured below was drinking dew droplets from the leaves of American hazel (Corylus americana). American hazel is covered in sticky red glandular hairs, and I wonder if this, in addition to water, was what it was seeking. Perhaps there are chemicals in the glandular hairs it needs.
Ctenucha virginica is drinking dew from the glandular hair-covered surface of American hazel leaves. The filiform antennae show that this is a female.
Active at night, too
Ctenucha virginica moths are frequent visitors to my moth lights. Last year, in late June and early July, they were in abundance, with ten or more each night. In the photos below are a few of the visitors I saw last summer.
Ctenucha virginicaCtenucha virginica with Spiramater lutra (upper right) and Endothenia cf. hebesana (middle)Ctenucha virginica with Dichomeris purpureofusca (left) and Nascia acutellus (lower right)
More caterpillars this spring?
With so many Ctenucha virginica moths last summer I expect there will be an abundance of their caterpillars this coming spring. If there are then I will collect some so I can let them pupate in a safe environment and learn a little more about that stage of their life cycle.
Not Very Far Away 