Genus Poblicia Stal, 1866

Genus Poblicia Stal, 1866: 138 (key) – The Speckled Lanternflies.

Type species (in original combination): Poeocera misella Stål, 1863: 239. (Designation by Van Duzee 1916: 78).

Synonyms

None.

Distribution

Southern US and Mexico, south to Panama.

Recognized species

This genus has 4 species, 2 of which occur in the U.S. [Metcalf 1947: 61]. This genus was reviewed by Bartlett et al. (2025).

Poblicia cribrata (Gerstaecker, 1860) — The obscure speckled lanternfly – (from unknown locality, probably Central America)
= Poiocera venosa Walker, 1851: 298 (nec Germar) (original description).
= Poiocera cribrata Gerstaecker, 1860 (replacement name for preoccupied Poiocera venosa Walker (nec Germar).
= Poblicia cribrata (Gerstaecker, 1860), restored name by Bartlett et al. (2025)

Poblicia fuliginosa (Olivier, 1791) — Sumac speckled lanternfly – USA: AL, AR, GA, IL, KS, LA, MD, MO, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX (except upper Rio Grande
region), VA; Mexico: Coahuila [iNaturalist]
= Fulgora fuliginosa Olivier, 1791: 574.
= Poblicia fuliginosa (Olivier, 1791); comb. by Van Duzee (1917: 719)
= Crepusia fuliginosa (Olivier, 1791); comb. by Nast (1951: 270). [Nast excluded this species from Poblicia, but this has not been subsequently followed]
= Poblicia fuliginosa (Olivier, 1791); name explicitly restored in Bartlett et al. (2025).

Poblicia misella (Stål, 1863: 239) [Distant 1887: 31] — The broad-headed speckled Lanternfly – Mexico (Oaxaca)
= Poeocera misella Stål, 1863: 239.
= Poblicia misella (Stål, 1863), comb. by Distant 1887: 31.

Poblicia texana Oman, 1936 – this species moved to Angulapteryx Bartlett, 2025

Poblicia thanatophana Kirkaldy, 1907: 61 — The orange-tailed speckled lanternfly – USA: CA, AZ, CO (Pueblo Co.), NM, TX (upper Rio Grande region); Mexico: Sonora
= synonym of Poblicia fuliginosa by Ball (1933), restored to species by Bartlett et al. (2025).

{Flow includes the following species, but it was restored to Scaralis by Porion 1994}

Scaralis spectabilis (Walker, 1858) – Panama, Brazil (Para)
= Poiocera spectabilis Walker, 1858: 55.
= Scaralis spectabilis (Walker, 1858); comb. by Distant (1887: 36)
= Poblicia spectabilis (Walker, 1858); comb. restored by Metcalf (1938: 353)
= Scaralis spectabilis Walker, 1858; comb. restored by Porion 1994.
= Scaralis (Alphinoides) spectabilis (Walker, 1858); comb. by Yanega et al. 2024: 44-45.

Economic Importance

Limited.

Plant associations

Poblicia fuliginosa – Rhus spp., esp. Rhus copallinum L. (winged or shining sumac, Anacardiaceae).  Some specimens were taken of red maple Acer rubrum, in Bladen Co., NC; the red maple was coppice in a power line right-of-way, and may not have been a usual host; this species was also found on Ambrosia trifida, giant ragweed, in Maryland (I suspect this was an incidental plant association).

Poblicia thanatophana – Baccharis sarothroides A. Gray (desertbroom), Baccharis salicina Torr. & A. Gray (willow
baccharis), Baccharis sp., Brickellia sp. (brickellbush), Helianthus sp. (sunflower) (all Asteraceae). The California
record of this species at the flowers of Opuntia basilaris Engelm. & J.M. Bigelow (Cactaceae) is likely a dispersing
individual.

Plant associations from Bartlett et al. (2025). 

Recognition

This genus was reviewed by Bartlett et al. (2025). Relatively small taxa (~10–16 mm including wings), nearly black. Body broad and parallel-sided. Head strongly transverse (lacking a projection), just wider than the pronotum. Vertex strongly transverse, much wider than long, carinate on all sides. Frons quadrate, approximately twice as wide as tall. Forewings are entirely opaque with pale (often bluish) maculations. Hindwings broad, anal lobe well-developed, smoky, mostly translucent, proximally deep grey, often with 1–2 large pale (pale blue or white) markings. Fore and middle legs with femora and tibiae flattened. Dorsum of abdomen broadly orange or red.

Poblicia fuliginosa by Tyler Hagerty (USDA)

Poblicia fuliginosa eggs on Winged sumac

Poblicia fuliginosa on Winged sumac (Rhus copallinum) in Bladen Co., NC; Sep. 2017

Online resources

FLOW.
TaxonPages. (World Auchenorrhyncha Database).
Bugguide.
iNaturalist.
EOL.
Maryland Diversity Project.
Discover life.
Hoppers of North Carolina.
BOLD.
GenBank.

Collecting

Found by inspecting hosts.  Poblicia fuliginosa can sometimes be locally common. They don’t seem to come to light.

Molecular resources

Genbank has several genes for Poblicia fuliginosa; Barcode of life has data for P. fuliginosa.

Selected references

Ball, E.D. 1933. Notes on the Fulgoridae with some new species. Psyche 40: 145–150.

Bartlett, C.R., L.B. O’Brien & S.W. Wilson. 2014. A review of the planthoppers (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea) of the United States. Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 50: 1–287.

Bartlett, C.R., E.R. Adams & A. T. Gonzon, Jr. 2011. Planthoppers of Delaware (Hemiptera, Fulgoroidea), excluding Delphacidae, with species incidence from adjacent States. ZooKeys 83: 1–42.

Bartlett, C.R., T. Hagerty, D. Yanega, M. Hoddle, M. Gebiola, & F. Gomez Marco. 2025. A taxonomic review of Poblicia Stål (Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha, Fulgoridae), with special reference to species north of Mexico. Zootaxa 5689 (1): 081–113. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5689.1.3 (open access)

Da Costa Lima, A.M. 1935. Catalogo das especies americanas de Laternaridae (Homoptera : Fulgoroidea). Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro 30: 481–517.

Distant, W.L. 1887.  Rhynchota: Homoptera. Biologia Centrali-Americana; contributions to the knowledge of the fauna and flora of Mexico and Central America 1: 25–32, 33–40. [see p. 31, e.g.]

Dozier, H.L. 1928 [dated 1922 or 1926]. The Fulgoridae or planthoppers of Mississippi, including those of possible occurrence. Technical Bulletin of the Mississippi Agricultural Experiment Station 14: 1–152.

Dunn, G.A. 1996. Insects of the Great Lakes Region. University of Michigan. 236 pp. [Poblicia fuliginosa noted]

Haupt, H. 1929. Neueinteilung der Homoptera-Cicadina nach phylogenetisch zu wertenden Merkmalen. Zoologische Jahrbücher. Abteilung für Systemetik, Okologie und Geographie der Tiere. Jena 58: 173–286.