Download Homoptera (informal name) Suborder Auchenorrhyncha (cicadas

General Entomology EEB 286
University of Connecticut
Fall 2006
Homoptera
Page 1
Homoptera (informal name)
Suborder Auchenorrhyncha (cicadas and hoppers)
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antennae short, bristle-like; arising in front of or between compound eyes
tarsi 3-segmented
mouthparts piercing-sucking; beak usually short and arising from back of head
winged or wingless
both pairs of wings (if present) membranous, held roof-like over abdomen
many species produce honeydew, which may attract ants and other insects
Family: Cicadidae (cicadas)
• large insects, 2-10 cm, with distinctive shape
• 3 ocelli
• males usually with sound producing organs at base
of abdomen on ventral side
• life cycle lasting 1-5 years, sometimes up to 17
years (periodical cicadas Magicicada)
• nymphs developing underground, feeding on roots;
their front tibiae enlarged for digging
• occasionally periodical cicadas can cause serious damage to young trees
Family: Membracidae (treehoppers)
• pronotum greatly prolonged backward over abdomen,
often fantastically shaped
• small insects, body 8-12 mm
• adults often exhibiting parental care and protecting young
• males produce sound by drumming parts of body against plants
• feed on trees and shrubs, a few species of significant economic
importance
Family: Cercopidae (froghoppers and spittlebugs)
• hind tibia with 1 or 2 stout spines and usually circlet of
spines at apex
• small insects, body oval when seen from above, 8-12 mm
• wings membranous
• pronotum not extending backward
• coloration usually brown or mottled gray
• nymphs produce and become surrounded by spittle-like mass
• feed on trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants and grasses; a few
species of significant economic importance
Family: Cicadellidae (leafhoppers)
• hind tibia with one or more rows of small spines
• similar to Cercopidae, but body usually tapering
posteriorly or parallel-sided; 10 mm or less
• usually green; some brightly colored
• feed on plants – most species exhibit high food plant
specificity
• group includes many serious agricultural pests, as well as
species that act as vectors of viral plant diseases
General Entomology EEB 286
University of Connecticut
Fall 2006
Homoptera
Page 2
Superfamily Fulgoroidea (planthoppers)
• antennae arising on sides of head beneath
eyes
• highly diverse group that contains dozen
families in N. America; fantastically diverse in
tropics
• middle coxa elongate and separated
• jumping insects
Suborder Sternorrhyncha (aphids and scale insects)
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tarsi 1- or 2-segmented (sometimes legs lacking)
antennae long and thread-like
beak appears to arise between the front coxae
mostly very small, inactive or slow insects
Family Psyllidae (psyllids)
• tarsi 2-segmented
• antennae 10-segmented
• front wings membranous or thickened, held roof-like over body
• many species produce waxy filaments that make them look cottony
• jumping insects, 2-5 mm
• free living, feed on plants; a few make galls (mostly on hackberry); this group includes
some serious agricultural pests; a few vector plant diseases
Family: Aphididae (aphids)
• posterior part of abdomen usually with pair of cornicles (tubules that secrete defensive fluids)
• soft-bodied, usually somewhat pear-shaped insects, 1-8 mm
• wings at rest held tent-like over body
• large group of insects, often occurring in
considerable numbers on stems, leaves,
roots, and flowers of various plants (esp.
active-growing tissue)
• many serious pests of cultivated plants;
important plant disease vectors
• most species have complex life cycles that
involve bisexual and parthenogenic
(females only) generations
• aphids discharge from anus watery liquid
(honeydew) which attracts ants and other insects; some ants
even provide shelter and care for aphid eggs during winter and in spring, and carry aphids to suitable host plants
Superfamily: Coccoidea (scale insects)
• tarsus 1-segmented, with 1 claw, or legs
absent
• males minute, midge-like, with 1 pair of
wings and no beak; end of abdomen with 1 or
2 long, style-like processes
• females wingless and often legless, usually
with waxy or scale-like covering
• identification to family very difficult, based
mostly on microscopic characters
• mealybugs (families Pseudococcidae and Eriococcidae) with well-developed
legs and bodies covered with white waxy secretion; often pests of citrus and greenhouse plants
• females of wax and tortoise scales (family Coccidae) flattened and oval; antennae and legs reduced or absent
• females of gall-like coccids (family Kermidae) legless, with 6-segmented antennae; they live on oak twigs and
resemble tiny galls (likely source of the biblical manna)