Family: Cicadellidae
Subfamily: Idiocerinae
For those hoping for an easy identification to species, members of the genus Idiocerus offer disappointments. As Bryan Beirne (1956) put it, "reliable specific identifications are difficult and sometimes impossible. There is much individual and local variation in color and markings, and in the size and in the form of the dorsal arm of the aedoeagus [male genitalia, often used in identification]. Many forms that have been accorded species status intergrade with one another in morphological characters."
While Beirne's words are dated, difficulties in identifying species of Idiocerus remain. The only good news is that the genus can be reliably identified by the shape of the head.
This one is reminiscent of the primarily western species Idiocerus nervatus with its reddish scutellum and its green wings with dark markings, but we will label it Idiocerus sp.
