Eurybrachidae

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Eurybrachidae
Paropioxys jucundus.jpg
Paropioxys jucundus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Auchenorrhyncha
Infraorder: Fulgoromorpha
Superfamily: Fulgoroidea
Family: Eurybrachidae
Stål, 1862
Subfamilies

See text

Eurybrachidae (sometimes misspelled "Eurybrachyidae" or "Eurybrachiidae") is a small family of planthoppers with species occurring in parts of Asia, Australia and Africa. They are remarkable for the sophistication of their automimicry.

Contents

Etymology

The family name is derived from the Greek ευρος (euros) and βραχυς (brachus), meaning "broad" and "short". This presumably reflects the shape of adults of representative species.

Description

Eurybrachidae generally resemble related families of planthoppers in the Fulgoromorpha. They are moderate-sized insects, generally 1 to 3 cm long when mature, but they are unobtrusive and camouflaged with brown, grey or green blotches, mimicking foliage, bark or lichens. [1] Their mottled camouflage patterns are most intense on the large forewings of many species, hiding the broad and often aposematically colourful abdomen. The frons of the head is characteristic, being broader than it is long. [2]

Biology

Lateral view of a nymph of an unidentified species of Eurybrachidae from Botswana, showing the antennae-mimicking filaments on the abdomen Lappies Unidentified Eurybrachyidae Nymph 1.jpg
Lateral view of a nymph of an unidentified species of Eurybrachidae from Botswana, showing the antennae-mimicking filaments on the abdomen
Dorsal view of a eurybrachid nymph with antennae-mimicking filaments on the abdomen Lappies Unidentified Eurybrachyidae Nymph 3.jpg
Dorsal view of a eurybrachid nymph with antennae-mimicking filaments on the abdomen

Eurybrachidae generally are sap-suckers of trees or shrubs. In Australia, the genus Platybrachys associates with Eucalyptus trees, while the genera Olonia and Dardus associate with Acacia .

Each eurybrachid female is likely to have an adult lifespan of some months, during which she lays several clutches of eggs. Females of many species deposit the eggs in clusters on bark or the undersides of leaves, placed in a fingerprint sized patch of white waxy material, covered by a white capsule that protects them from many predators. However, small parasitoid wasps are adapted to attack the eggs by piercing the capsules with their ovipositors, and some species of beetles, such as some Coccinellidae will chew through the capsule and eat the eggs if they find a clutch. [3]

The nymphs, being less agile than the adults, rely on mimicry, camouflage for direct protection. However, they also secrete honeydew that attracts ants. The ants in turn protect them from wide varieties of predators and parasitoids.

The southeast Asian genus Ancyra is well known for the adult insects having a pair of prolonged filaments at the tips of the forewings; the wings are folded back when the insect is not in flight, so that the tips with their attached filaments are at the posterior end. The tips arise near a pair of small glossy spots; this creates the impression of a pair of antennae, with corresponding "eyes", a remarkable example of automimicry. [4] The "false head" effect is further reinforced by the bugs' habit of walking backwards when it detects movement nearby, so as to misdirect predators to strike at its rear, rather than at its actual head, and to strike in the anticipated direction of leaping, whereas the insect jumps in the opposite direction, away from the false head and initial direction of movement.

Other genera, including many African, Asian, and Australasian species, have closely analogous habits, but the automimicry occurs in the wingless nymphs instead of the winged adults. The pseudo-antennae of such nymphs are attached to the sub-posterior dorsal surface of the abdomen of the wingtips. The structure is visible in some of the illustrations in this article. The adults lack the pseudo-antennae, as may be seen for example for example in the illustration of Paropioxys jucundus. When the nymphs with the posterior pseudo-antennae are disturbed they wave them and walk backwards towards the threat in much the same way as the adults of Asiatic species that have filaments on their wingtips. Such nymphs similarly leap in misleading directions when sufficiently alarmed. However, not all species are equipped for that characteristic automimicry; in some genera, such as Eurybrachys , whether this genus is correctly taxonomically assigned or otherwise, the nymphs bear caudal tufts of bristles such as one typically finds in other families of the Fulgoroidea. [5]

Taxonomy

The oldest known Eurybrachid is from the middle Eocene of Messel. [6] The fossil genus Amalaberga is not placeable within the modern classification in two subfamilies Platybrachinae and Eurybrachinae. [7]

Platybrachinae

Platybrachys sp. Platybrachys sp. (15933086716).jpg
Platybrachys sp.
Hackerobrachys viridiventris Brown face planthopper - Hackerobrachys viridiventris (4244137398).jpg
Hackerobrachys viridiventris

Eurybrachinae

Eurybrachys sp. Eurybrachys sp (In "tomentosa" group), Eurybrachidae. at Mechod Padur.jpg
Eurybrachys sp.

Authority: Stål, 1862

Pest status

Most Eurybrachidae are not regarded as pests, but like many families of plant sucking Hemiptera, they do include some species of concern. For example, Eurybrachys tomentosa is regarded as a pest of tropical Asian forestry, causing damage in plantations of sandalwood and Calotropis . [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Ancyra</i> (planthopper) Genus of true bugs

Ancyra is a small genus of planthoppers of the family Eurybrachidae and the only genus in the tribe Ancyrini. Species in this genus occur in southeast Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coreidae</span> Family of insects

Coreidae is a large family of predominantly sap-sucking insects in the Hemipteran suborder Heteroptera. The name "Coreidae" derives from the genus Coreus, which derives from the Ancient Greek κόρις (kóris) meaning bedbug.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fulgoridae</span> Family of true bugs

The family Fulgoridae is a large group of hemipteran insects, especially abundant and diverse in the tropics, containing over 125 genera worldwide. They are mostly of moderate to large size, many with a superficial resemblance to Lepidoptera due to their brilliant and varied coloration. Various genera and species are sometimes referred to as lanternflies or lanthorn flies, though they do not emit light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Planthopper</span> Superfamily of insects

A planthopper is any insect in the infraorder Fulgoromorpha, in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, a group exceeding 12,500 described species worldwide. The name comes from their remarkable resemblance to leaves and other plants of their environment and that they often "hop" for quick transportation in a similar way to that of grasshoppers. However, planthoppers generally walk very slowly. Distributed worldwide, all members of this group are plant-feeders, though few are considered pests. The infraorder contains only a single superfamily, Fulgoroidea. Fulgoroids are most reliably distinguished from the other Auchenorrhyncha by two features; the bifurcate ("Y"-shaped) anal vein in the forewing, and the thickened, three-segmented antennae, with a generally round or egg-shaped second segment (pedicel) that bears a fine filamentous arista.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cixiidae</span> Family of true bugs

The Cixiidae are a family of fulgoroid insects, one of many families commonly known as planthoppers, distributed worldwide and comprising more than 2,000 species from over 150 genera. The genera are placed into three subfamilies, Borystheninae, Bothriocerinae and Cixiinae with sixteen tribes currently accepted in Cixiinae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ricaniidae</span> Family of true bugs

Ricaniidae is a family of planthopper insects, containing over 400 species worldwide. The highest diversity is in tropical Africa and Asia and in Australia, with a few species occurring in the Palearctic and Neotropical realms. It is one of the smaller families in the planthopper superfamily Fulgoroidea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derbidae</span> Family of true bugs

Derbidae is a family of insects in the order Hemiptera, the true bugs. It is one of the largest and most diverse families of planthoppers. It is widely distributed around the world, especially in the tropics, and with many species in subtropical and temperate regions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dictyopharidae</span> Family of planthoppers

Dictyopharidae is a family of planthoppers, related to the Fulgoridae. The family comprises nearly 760 species in more than 150 genera which are grouped into two subfamilies, Dictyopharinae and Orgeriinae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aphaeninae</span> Subfamily of true bugs

The subfamily Aphaeninae is a group of hemipteran insects, especially abundant and diverse in the tropics. They belong to the Fulgoridae (fulgorids), though they are not among the better-known members of that family that are called "lantern bugs" or "lanternflies". In 2009, the first molecular analysis of the Fulgoridae challenged the existing structure of eight currently recognized subfamilies and eleven tribes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flatidae</span> Family of planthoppers

Flatidae are a family of fulgoroid planthoppers. They are cosmopolitan in distribution and are distinguished from others in the superfamily by a combination of characters. Like all other planthoppers, they suck phloem sap of plants. Some species are known to communicate with vibrations through the plant stems. Communication may be with mates, or with ants that tend the nymphs, protecting them and gathering honeydew secretions. Adults of some species have brightly coloured forewings which are tougher and known as tegmina unlike the membranous hindwings which are used for flight. Although a few can be identified by their coloration, most species requires dissection and examination under a microscope with access to literature on already described species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Issidae</span> Family of planthoppers

Issidae is a family of planthoppers described by Spinola in 1839, belonging to the order Hemiptera, suborder Auchenorrhyncha superfamily Fulgoroidea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lophopidae</span> Family of planthoppers

Lophopidae is a family of fulgoroid plant-hoppers with most species found in tropical South America and Asia.

The Elicini are a tribe of planthoppers in the family Tropiduchidae. The type genus is Elica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Achilidae</span> Family of true bugs

Achilidae is a family of planthoppers, sometimes called "achilids" in the order Hemiptera. There are at least 520 described species in Achilidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meenoplidae</span> Family of true bugs

Meenoplidae is a family of fulgoromorph planthoppers that are closely related to the Kinnaridae. They are small, with tent-like wings and usually are less than a centimetre long and a little more than a 100 species in around 25 genera are known with a distribution restricted to the Old World. They are distinguished by having one or more of their claval veins covered in sensory pits along their length. The face is usually broad and the lateral carinae are strongly elevated. The last segment of the labium is elongate. A median ocellus is usually present. The wings are always present in adults and the venation consists of a small number of veins and very few cross veins. There are two subfamilies currently considered valid Meenoplinae and Kermesiinae. About 50 species are known from Africa. Along with the Achilixiidae and Kinnaridae, they have flattened star-shaped plate organs on their antennae. The nymphs are found close to the soil while adults feed mainly on monocots. Species identity can usually be established reliably only by examination of the male genitalia. A few species Phaconeura pluto, Meenoplus cancavus, Tsingya clarkei, and Suva oloimoa are known to be cave dwelling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flatinae</span> Subfamily of planthoppers

The Flatinae are a subfamily of planthoppers, erected by Maximilian Spinola in 1839. Genera have been recorded from all continents except Antarctica: especially in tropical and subtropical regions.

<i>Eurybrachys</i> Genus of true bugs

Eurybrachys is a genus of bugs in the family Eurybrachidae. First formally named in 1834 by French entomologist Félix Édouard Guérin-Méneville, Eurybrachys is the type genus of the family Eurybrachidae. The spelling Eurybrachis, by the author, is considered an unaccepted orthographic variant. Species in this genus occur in Asia.

Tropiduchus is a genus of planthoppers, recorded from Africa and Malesia.

Platybrachys is a genus of Australian Fulgoromorph planthoppers within the family Eurybrachidae.

<i>Hackerobrachys</i>

Hackerobrachys is an Australian genus of planthoppers in the family Eurybrachidae. It has only one species, Hackerobrachys viridiventris, making it a monotypic taxon. This species was originally described as Olonia viridiventris in 1863 by Carl Stål, and was reassigned to the new genus Hackerobrachys in 2006 by Jérôme Constant.

References

  1. Alan Weaving; Mike Picker; Griffiths, Charles Llewellyn (2003). Field Guide to Insects of South Africa. New Holland Publishers, Ltd. ISBN   1-86872-713-0.
  2. Scholtz, C.H.; Holm, E. (1985). Insects of Southern Africa. Butterworths. p. 158. ISBN   0-409-10487-6.
  3. Australian Eurybrachyid Planthoppers
  4. Wickler, W. (1968) Mimicry in plants and animals, McGraw-Hill, New York
  5. 1 2 David, B. Vasantharaj; E. John Larsen (1978). General and Applied Entomology. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. p. 398. ISBN   978-0-07-043435-6.
  6. Szwedo, Jacek; Wappler, Torsten (2006) New planthoppers (Insecta: Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha) from the Middle Eocene Messel maar. Annales Zoologici 56(3):555-566.
  7. FLOW database