Smiliinae

Smiliinae can be distinguished from other Membracidae subfamilies by tribal-level characters including the dorsal margin of the head, pronotum shape, size of pronotal humeral angles, presence or absence of pronotal longitudinal rugae, forewing cell size, fusion patterns of veins R and M in fore- and hind wings, and shape of the apex of the female second valvulae. The subfamily excludes the primitive Centrotinae, which is distinguished by an exposed scutellum not covered by the expanded pronotum. Within Smiliinae, the tribes Smiliini and Telamonini (reinstated from synonymy with Smiliini) are distinguished by the morphological characters listed above; Smiliini in the broad sense was not recovered as monophyletic in phylogenetic analyses. The genera Antianthe, Hemicardiacus, Smilirhexia, and Tropidarnis are currently placed as Smiliinae incertae sedis due to uncertain tribal assignment.

Primarily associated with woody vegetation, especially deciduous trees. The tribe Telamonini is predominantly associated with oak (Quercus) forests and woodlands, with 45 of 68 species recorded from Quercus. White oak (Quercus alba) is the most common host plant for this tribe. High-elevation habitats are occupied by some genera, such as Cornutalis in the Colombian highlands. The tribe Ceresini extends into the Palaearctic region, representing the primary Old World distribution of the otherwise New World subfamily.

Overwhelmingly New World in distribution, with the vast majority of tribes and genera restricted to the Americas. The tribe Ceresini contains Palaearctic representatives, providing the only significant Old World presence. Within the New World, the tribe Smiliini is predominantly Nearctic, with evolutionary origins in Central America and Mexico followed by multiple dispersal events to temperate North America. The tribe Telamonini is also Nearctic in distribution. Neotropical diversity is extensive, with many genera restricted to tropical regions of Central and South America.

Phloem feeding on host plant vascular tissues. Nymphs represent the predominant feeding stage; adult feeding records are often considered unreliable due to adult movement between plants. The tribe Telamonini has been documented feeding on 22 plant families, 41 genera, and 80 species of mostly woody deciduous trees. Oak (Quercus) is the dominant host plant group, with nearly half of all telamonine species collected from more than one plant genus.

• Quercus alba (white oak) - primary hostmost common telamonine host plant
• Quercus (oak) - primary host45 of 68 Telamonini species recorded from oak
• Baccharis (Asteraceae) - hostfirst recorded host plant for genus Cornutalis
• Alchisme - hosthost plant for genus Cornutalis

Nymphs are the predominant feeding stage and are sessile on host plants, making them more reliable indicators of true host associations than adults. Nymphs of several Telamonini species have been reared to the adult stage on host plants, confirming host plant relationships. First morphological diagnoses for nymphs of 14 Telamonini species have been established, with nymphal morphology showing differences among species within the genera Archasia, Glossonotus, Heliria, and Telamona that suggest current generic definitions require revision.

Many species engage in mutualistic associations with ants, in which treehoppers provide honeydew and receive protection from predators. However, not all species maintain ant associations; some ant-mimicking species such as Poppea setosa appear to lack such mutualisms, with ant mimicry possibly serving as protective mimicry in the absence of direct ant attendance. Some species exhibit extreme pronotal modifications including ant-mimicking forms and elaborate projections; the adaptive functions of many of these structures remain incompletely understood, with hypotheses including thorn mimicry, ant mimicry, and aid in dispersal of volatile sex pheromones (the latter lacking experimental support).

As phloem feeders, Smiliinae extract plant sap and excrete honeydew, serving as a carbohydrate source for ants and other insects. Ant mutualisms involving Smiliinae may provide indirect benefits to host plants through reduced feeding by other phytophagous insects due to ant defensive activity. The close evolutionary association between Smiliinae (particularly Telamonini and Smiliini) and oak (Quercus) host plants represents a significant specialized plant-insect interaction in Nearctic forests.

No significant economic importance; treehoppers have attracted disproportionate scientific attention relative to their low economic impact due to their extraordinary morphological diversity. Some species serve as study organisms for evolutionary and phylogenetic research, and for understanding plant-insect coevolution and ant mutualism systems. The subfamily has been used in developing insect camera trap monitoring techniques (e.g., Stictocephala basalis).

• CentrotinaePrimitive subfamily distinguished by exposed scutellum not covered by expanded pronotum; occurs in both Old and New Worlds, whereas Smiliinae is primarily New World
• DarninaeNeotropical subfamily including ant-mimicking forms; distinguished by tribal and generic-level morphological characters
• MembracinaeSubfamily including diverse genus Umbonia; distinguished by pronotal and wing venation characters

• treehoppers
• Membracidae
• pronotal modifications
• ant mimicry
• ant mutualism
• oak specialists
• Nearctic
• Neotropical
• phloem feeders
• New World radiation

• BugGuide
• Wikipedia
• iNaturalist taxon
• NCBI Taxonomy
• Catalogue of Life
• Bizarre, beautiful extremes | Beetles In The Bush
• A new species of Cornutalis Sakakibara (Membracidae: Smiliinae: Acutalini) from Colombia
• Morphology-based phylogenetic analysis of the treehopper tribe Smiliini (Hemiptera: Membracidae: Smiliinae), with reinstatement of the tribe Telamonini
• The host plants of the Telamonini treehoppers (Hemiptera: Membracidae: Smiliinae) and the first diagnoses of nymphs for 14 species
• Synonymy of Paraphetea Sakakibara and Creão-Duarte and Flynnia McKamey (Hemiptera: Membracidae: Smiliinae), with a Reinstated Combination, New Distribution Records, and a Key to All Species of Thuridini
• Open-source insect camera trap with vibrational detection and luring for monitoring Stictocephala basalis (Walker, Hemiptera: Membracidae: Smiliinae).
• Three new monobasic genera and three new species of the New World treehopper tribe Acutalini (Hemiptera, Membracidae, Smiliinae) with a key to all genera.
• The immatures of the New World treehopper tribes Acutalini Fowler and Micrutalini Haupt (Hemiptera, Membracidae, Smiliinae).