Hebetica sylviae | |
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Hebetica sylviae in Atlanta, Georgia | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hemiptera |
Suborder: | Auchenorrhyncha |
Family: | Membracidae |
Genus: | Hebetica |
Species: | H. sylviae
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Binomial name | |
Hebetica sylviae McKamey & Sullivan-Beckers, 2019[1]
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Distribution range of Hebetica sylviae Confirmed Unconfirmed |
Hebetica sylviae is a member of the treehopper family Membracidae. It is found in the eastern United States, first discovered in Murray, Kentucky, with a second sighting in Atlanta, Georgia.
It was serendipitously discovered by Laura Sullivan-Beckers in 2016, and described by Sullivan-Beckers with Stuart H. McKamey in 2019. The specific epithet honors Sullivan-Beckers's daughter Sylvie, aged two at the time, who had overwatered her flower bed, exposing members of H. sylviae that had been buried by predatory wasps. Sullivan-Beckers later contacted citizen science website iNaturalist to further document specimens across the United States.
Hebetica sylviae is the sole representative of the genus Hebetica in the Nearctic; all other members are Neotropical in distribution. In addition, it is the only member of the tribe Darnini, the raindrop treehoppers, in the Eastern United States.