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.
A planthopper is any insect in the infraorder Fulgoromorpha, in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, and 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 surprisingly 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.
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.
Ricaniidae is a family of planthopper insects, containing over 40 genera and 400 species worldwide. The highest diversity is in tropical Africa and Asia and in Australia, with a few species occurring in the Palearctic. It is one of the smaller families in the planthopper superfamily Fulgoroidea.
Dictyopharidae is a family of bugs in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha belonging to the infraorder Fulgoromorpha. The family comprises nearly 760 species in more than 150 genera which are grouped into two subfamilies, Dictyopharinae and Orgeriinae.
Acanalonia is a genus of planthopper in the fulgorid family Acanaloniidae.
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.
Caliscelidae is a family of planthoppers, sap-sucking insects that belong to the order Hemiptera, suborder Auchenorrhyncha and superfamily Fulgoroidea. They are somewhat anomalous and have often been included within the family Issidae. Studies made in 2013 of the phylogeny of the Issidae and other groups using molecular techniques support the treatment of the group as a separate family. Sexual dimorphism can be marked. Some members of the family are called piglet bugs due to the shape of their snout. A particularly aberrant genus described in 2011 from India, Formiscurra, has males that resemble ants.
Cixiinae is a planthopper subfamily in the family Cixiidae. It is one of three such subfamilies, the other two being the Bothriocerinae and the Borystheninae. While a few species had been tested in a larger study of the Fulgoroidea, neither the Cixiinae nor its tribes were analysed cladistically until 2002. Resolution of tribal relationships is incomplete and additional testing of the tribes with samples larger than one per tribe is needed.
Lophopidae is a family of fulgoroid plant-hoppers with most species found in tropical South America and Asia. Most members of the family are characterized by the face being longer than wide with at least two lateral ridges. The hind tibia can bear some spines, two to three. Lateral ocelli are present below the compound eye and slightly in front of it. The wings are broad and held somewhat flat and the wings are often patterned. The nymphs have two long tails and many members have slightly flattened front tibiae.
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.
Melanoliarus is a genus of cixiid planthoppers in the family Cixiidae. There are at about 50 described species in Melanoliarus, which are common and widespread in the Nearctic and Neotropics.
Oeclidius is a genus of kinnarid planthoppers in the family Kinnaridae. There are at least 20 described species in Oeclidius.
Asiracinae is a subfamily of delphacid planthoppers in the family Delphacidae. There are at least 30 genera and 180 described species in Asiracinae, which probably has a world-wide distribution.
Tropiduchinae is a subfamily of tropiduchid planthoppers in the family Tropiduchidae.
Dictyopharinae is a subfamily of dictyopharid planthoppers in the family Dictyopharidae. There more than 100 genera and 500 described species in Dictyopharinae, in 15 tribes.
The Achilixiidae are a family of Fulgoromorpha (planthoppers); species may be found in the neotropical and Asian regions.
The Hemisphaeriinae are a subfamily of bugs in the family Issidae, based on the type genus Hemisphaerius. Species in 107 genera have been recorded in most continents, but the greatest diversity appears to be in South-East Asia.
