Sampling Threecornered Alfalfa Hopper on Soybean

Abstract

Early reports on the threecomered alfalfa hopper, Spissistilus festinus (Say) (Homoptera: Membracidae), (Figs. 19-1 and 19-2) indicated that the species was most abundant in the southern United States but that it was reported in all states except Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah (Wildermuth 1915). Van Duzee (1917) and Funkhouser (1927) disagreed with some of the state records given by Wildermuth because entomologists in the early part of the century often confused two or more species of Spissistilus. This confusion existed until Caldwell (1949) published a description for Spissistilus festinus (Say) based on genitalia. Caldwell gave the range as “across the southern United States and as far south as Costa Rica” North-south fluctuations probably are due to year-to-year weather variations. However, it is evident that the threecornered alfalfa hopper is present in most of the current soybean production areas of the United States although there are no records of the species in the midwestern states north of Missouri (M. Kogan, personal communication based on data of the Illinois Soybean Arthropods Reference Collection).

Published with the approval of the Director, Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station.