An Annotated List of the Leafhoppers (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) from Tallgrass Prairie of Kansas and Oklahoma

Abstract

More than 110 species of leafhoppers representing 54 genera in 12 subfamilies are reported from the Tallgrass Prairie found in the Flint Hills area of Kansas and extending into the Osage Hills of Oklahoma. Thirteen species are considered major inhabitors of the Tallgrass Prairie. Three species were taken from areas with tall prairie grasses but not considered true prairie. The first attempt to list the Kansas leafhoppers was by Popenoe (1885). Crevecoeur (1905) listed 80 species and varieties from Onaga, Kansas. The first comprehensive list was compiled by Lawson (1920) who identified 211 Kansas species taken mostly from eastern and western counties of the state. More recently Blocker et al. (1972) compiled a list of leafhoppers found on shortgrass prairie in western Kansas. This study lists the species of leafhoppers collected on tallgrass prairie in the Flint Hills of Kansas and Oklahoma, by combining unpublished research, a published report, and new collection records. The Flint Hills of eastern Kansas extend from near the Nebraska-Kansas border, south into northern Oklahoma where they blend into the Osage Hills. West of the Flint Hills is a gradual transition into mixed prairie (Anderson, 1953). The area is essentially bluestem prairie with minor grasses and forbs. The major grass species are Andropogon scaparius Michx. (little bluestem), A. gerardi (Vitman) (big bluestem), Bouteloua curtipencula (Michx.) Torr. (side-oats grama), Poa pratensis L. (Kentucky bluegrass), Sorghastrum nutans (L.) Nash (indiangrass), and Panicum virgatum L. (switchgrass). 1 Contribution 81-30-j, Department of Entomology, Agricultural Experiment Station, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506. 2 Former Undergraduate student, present address: Dept. of Entomology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506. This content downloaded from 157.55.39.234 on Sat, 16 Jul 2016 06:00:59 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 90 TRANSACTIONS OF THE KANSAS ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Forbs are present but are not a major percentage of climax species (Anderson and Fly, 1955). MATERIALS AND METHODS The species identified are from the following collections: H. D. Blocker and R. Reed (1972): Lists 52 species from Osage County, Oklahoma, representing the southern range of the Flint Hills at its junction with the Osage Hills. C. E. Mason (1973): Lists 58 species collected from Donaldson Research Pastures, Riley Co. Kansas, and an unburned-ungrazed pasture 6 km northwest of Manhattan, Kansas. Both sites are true Tallgrass Prairie. D. H. Johnson: Collected at Donaldson Pastures from 1958 through 1960. R. L. Baldridge (1969): Lists 38 leafhoppers with their parasites in 55 Kansas counties. Five of the counties are in the Flint Hills. P. B. Lawson (1920): Lists 211 species throughout Kansas, with many designated as grass feeders. S. Frary Smith: Swept pure prairie and somewhat grassy areas in the following Kansas counties-Butler, Chase, Cowley, Geary (Konza Prairie), Marshall, Morris, and Riley in 1978. P. S. Cwikla: Collected from pure stands of prairie grasses at the U.S.D.A.'s Plant Materials Center, Riley Co. Kansas, during the summer of 1978. Identification of leafhoppers from Smith and Cwikla materials were made by the senior author. Specific host plant records were obtained by sweeping various pure stands of tall prairie grasses at the U.S.D.A.'s Plant Materials Center: big and little bluestem, and bluestem (Andropogon halli Hack.), switchgrass, indiangrass, sideoats grama, sand lovegrass (Eragrostis trichodes (Nutt., Wood)), and prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata Link). All leafhoppers from the Smith and Cwikla collections are deposited in the Kansas State Entomology Museum. The senior author estimated abundance based on personal collecting and representation in the Kansas State Entomology Research Collection. When the insect was extremely plentiful and collected at most sites, it was designated abundant. When collected frequently at most of the collection sites, it was designated common; when collected in low numbers, uncommon. If only one or two specimens were collected, the insect was designated rare. Species and genera are listed alphabetically under subfamily. Collecting dates are given, when known, along with counties where the insect has been collected.