Systematic Entomology, Section Leader

Research Interests

Insect systematics; evolution, biodiversity, and conservation of leafhoppers and related insects (Hemiptera)

Research Description

Ongoing projects include phylogenomic analyses of major lineages of Membracoidea, development of online tools for genus and species identification, studies of the diversity and evolution of leafhopper-associated plant pathogens, and conservation of grassland insect biotas.

Education

PhD, Entomology, North Carolina State University, 1990
BS, Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 1984

Additional Campus Affiliations

Systematic Entomology, Section Leader, Illinois Natural History Survey
Affiliate, Entomology
Affiliate, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies

Recent Publications

Trivellone, V., Cao, Y., & Dietrich, C. H. (2026). A Workflow for Phytoplasma Discovery and Characterization in Potential Insect Vectors: From Non-destructive DNA Extraction and Vouchering to Next-Generation Sequencing. In Methods in Molecular Biology (pp. 101-118). (Methods in Molecular Biology; Vol. 3008). Humana Press Inc.. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-5104-9_9

Trivellone, V., Syeda, W. N., Zamharir, M. G., & Dietrich, C. H. (2026). Diversity of Phytoplasmas Infecting Plants and Insects in Iran Reveals Two Novel Ribosomal Subgroups. Insects, 17(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/insects17020223

Trivellone, V., Dietrich, C. H., Panassiti, B., Pagels, A., Janssen, E., Marcum, P. B., Johnson, S., McIntyre, S. D., Feist, M. A., Zaya, D. N., Benson, T. J., & Molano-Flores, B. (2026). Vegetation mediates the effect of management and habitat on Auchenorrhyncha species richness, but not community quality, in restored grasslands. Journal for Nature Conservation, 91, Article 127231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2026.127231

Zahniser, J. N., Dietrich, C. H., Cao, Y., Dmitriev, D. A., & Pinedo-Escatel, J. A. (2026). New tribal placements, reinstatements and synonymies in the leafhopper subfamily Deltocephalinae (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae). European Journal of Taxonomy, 1035, 1-51. https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2026.1035.3171

Cai, W., Nie, W., Li, J., Dietrich, C. H., & Yuan, X. (2025). Source of Introduction to China and Global Suitable Habitat Prediction for the Invasive Insect Stictocephala bisonia (Hemiptera: Membracidae). Ecology and Evolution, 15(12), Article e72708. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.72708

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