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.
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.
Issidae is a family of planthoppers described by Spinola in 1839, belonging to the order Hemiptera, suborder Auchenorrhyncha superfamily Fulgoroidea.
Nogodinidae is a family of planthoppers. They have membranous wings with delicate venation and can be confused with members of other Fulgoroid families such as the Issidae and Tropiduchidae. Some authors treat it as a subfamily of the Issidae.
Bythopsyrna circulata is a species of Asian planthoppers belonging to the family Flatidae.
Bythopsyrna is a genus of Asian planthoppers belonging to the family Flatidae.
Gergithus is a genus of tropical Asian planthoppers in the family Issidae, erected by Carl Stål in 1870. Like all planthoppers, adults feed on plant sap and are capable of escaping by leaping. The genus like other members in the tribe appears somewhat rounded and beetle-like, in some cases, with a mimetic resemblance to ladybird beetles. Species are mostly distributed in the Indomalayan Realm.
Ricania speculum, common name Black planthopper or Ricaniid Planthopper, is a species of planthoppers belonging to the family Ricaniidae.
Siphanta is a genus of planthoppers in the family Flatidae.
Kinnaridae is a family of fulgoroid planthoppers. This is a small family with a little more than 20 genera and about a 100 species. The family was erected by Muir in 1925 and most members are found in the Oriental and Neotropical regions and only a few in the Nearctic and Palaearctic regions.
Delphacinae is a subfamily of delphacid planthoppers in the family Delphacidae. There are at least 1,700 described species in Delphacinae.
Aphaena is a genus of planthoppers in the sub-family Aphaeninae of Fulgoridae. Species are distributed from eastern India, Indo-China, China and Malesia.
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.
Mimarachnidae is an extinct family of planthoppers known from the Cretaceous period. Their name is derived from spots on the wings of the first described genera, Mimarachne and Saltissus, being suggestive of spider mimicry, but these characters are not distinctive for the family as a whole. The family is characterised by "simplified venation and setigerous metatibial pecten and hind leg armature". as well as "rounded anterior margin of pronotum, double carination of pronotum and mesonotum"
Atracis is a genus of flatid planthopper with around 60 species distributed in the Oriental Realm and tropical Africa.
Cosmoscarta is a genus of froghoppers found in the Indo-Malayan region. Many of the species are boldly marked in black and red or yellow. A few species are of economic importance as they can cause injury to plants under cultivation.
Tambinia is a genus of planthoppers (Hemiptera) in the family Tropiduchidae and typical of the tribe Tambiniini ; species are found in Australia and Southeast Asia.
Tropiduchus is a genus of planthoppers, recorded from Africa and Malesia.
Lawana is a genus of planthoppers in the family Flatidae, erected by William Lucas Distant in 1906. In 1923, Leopold Melichar confirmed placement of this genus in tribe Flatini and subtribe Lawanina. Species are recorded from tropical Africa and Asia.
Mnemosyne is a genus of planthoppers in the subfamily Cixiinae, erected by Carl Stål in 1866; it is the only extant type genus of the tribe Mnemosynini. Species are recorded from: South America, Africa, the Indian subcontinent, SE Asia and Australia.
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