British Insects: the Families of Hemiptera
| British Insects: the Families of Hemiptera | |
Jassidae.
Leafhoppers.
Salient features of adults. Terrestrial.
Phytophagous (on trees, shrubs and herbs, variously tapping phloem or xylem, or feeding on cytoplasm). Tiny to small; 2–11 mm long; fliers; conspicuous jumpers; relatively stout bodied. Rostrum not separated from the prosternum by a gula. Antennae longer than the head, readily visible from above; consisting of short segments with a terminal, unsegmented arista that is much longer than the segments. Ocelli present (two). Thorax not crested. Tegulae absent. Fore-wings well developed; in the resting insect sloping roof-like over the abdomen; more or less uniform in texture; with opaque cells; without costal fracture and cuneus; with a clavus; with conspicuously raised, reticulate venation, or without conspicuously raised, reticulate venation. Clavus without convergence of veins to form a Y. Hind coxae immobile (according to Woodward et al., forming transverse plates occupying most of the ventral surface of the metathorax). The posterior tibiae longitudinally keeled (with one to three spiny keels). Tarsi 3 segmented.
Comments. Tegulae absent.
Taxonomy. Suborder Homoptera. Auchenorrhyncha. Cicadelloidea.
British representation. Genera 90; about 260 species.
Comments. Including pests which considerably damage host plants either directly, and/or indirectly by transmitting viruses and mycoplasmas.
Illustrations: • Amblycephalus germari Curtis, = Evacanthus acuminatus (Burdock Frog-hopper: B. Ent. 572). • ‘Amblycephalus germari’ (detail: B. Ent. 572). • ‘Amblycephalus germari’ (dissections: B. Ent. 572). • ‘Amblycephalus germari’ (legend+text: B. Ent. 572). • ‘Amblycephalus germari’ (text: B. Ent. 572, cont.).
The interactive key offers full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. British insects: the families of Hemiptera. Version: 9th April 2007. http://delta-intkey.com’.
