Hebetica sylviae

Hebetica sylviae
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
Binomial name
Hebetica sylviae McKamey & Sullivan-Beckers, 2019[1]
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.