An Introduced Tree, Black Locust, and Its Non-Native Treehoppers Augment Nebraska’s Biodiversity

The treehoppers Thelia bimaculata and Vanduzea arquata (Hemiptera: Membracidae) once were restricted to the native US range of their principal host, black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia; Fabaceae). Transport of egg-infested host plants, however, established these specialist herbivores in other areas of North America. Neither treehopper species had been recorded previously from Nebraska or South Dakota. The tree’s planting in Nebraska is reviewed to supplement the scant knowledge of its history in the state and to document the early availability of the treehoppers’ requisite host. After black locust was planted at Fort Atkinson in the 1820s, various activities and legislative acts promoted tree planting in Nebraska during the remainder of the century and in the early 20th century, providing opportunities for the treehoppers’ unintentional introduction. The treehoppers initially might have become established in eastern towns along the Missouri River in the 19th century, whereas their establishment in the north-central Sandhills might be attributed to the planting of the national forest near Halsey in the early 20th century and windbreaks in the 1930s.