Homoptera is a suborder of order Hemiptera that is considered by some taxonomists to be paraphyletic, and therefore deprecated (obsolete). It was therefore split into the suborders Sternorrhyncha, Auchenorrhyncha, and Coleorrhyncha. The earlier work was based on nuclear DNA, but more recent phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial DNA suggest that Homoptera may be a monophyletic group after all, a sister group of Heteroptera. The cause of the disparity in the analyses is suggested to be the long branch attraction effect in phylogenetic analysis, due to rapidly evolving DNA regions.
A leafhopper is the common name for any species from the family Cicadellidae. These minute insects, colloquially known as hoppers, are plant feeders that suck plant sap from grass, shrubs, or trees. Their hind legs are modified for jumping, and are covered with hairs that facilitate the spreading of a secretion over their bodies that acts as a water repellent and carrier of pheromones. They undergo a partial metamorphosis, and have various host associations, varying from very generalized to very specific. Some species have a cosmopolitan distribution, or occur throughout the temperate and tropical regions. Some are pests or vectors of plant viruses and phytoplasmas. The family is distributed all over the world, and constitutes the second-largest hemipteran family, with at least 20,000 described species.
The Peloridiidae or moss bugs are a family of true bugs, comprising eighteen genera and thirty-four species. They are small, ranging in length from 2 to 4 mm, rarely seen, peculiarly lumpy, flattened bugs found in Patagonia, New Zealand, eastern Australia, Lord Howe Island, and New Caledonia. All the Peloridiidae species are flightless, except one. Their present distribution suggests they have existed before the breakup of Gondwana, and their relation to Heteroptera dates back to at least the upper Permian, more than 230 million years ago. Peloridiids are found amongst mosses and liverworts, commonly in association with southern beech forests. They have become known as moss bugs for their habit of feeding on mosses.
The Auchenorrhyncha suborder of the Hemiptera contains most of the familiar members of what was called the Homoptera – groups such as cicadas, leafhoppers, treehoppers, planthoppers, and spittlebugs. The aphids and scale insects are the other well-known "Homoptera", and they are in the suborder Sternorrhyncha. Lesser-known insects largely regarded as Homoptera are the Coleorrhyncha. However, the taxonomic status of the Hemiptera and Homoptera is currently under investigation and discussion. See Heteroptera and Prosorrhyncha for more information.
The Sternorrhyncha suborder of the Hemiptera contains the aphids, whiteflies, and scale insects, groups which were traditionally included in the order Homoptera. "Sternorrhyncha" refers to the rearward position of the mouthparts relative to the head.
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 from the fact that they often "hop" for quick transportation in a similar way to that of grasshoppers. However, planthoppers generally walk very slowly so as not to attract attention. 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 superfamily Membracoidea are sap-sucking true-bugs that includes two of the largest families within what used to be called the "Homoptera"; the leafhoppers (Cicadellidae) and the treehoppers (Membracidae). The other families in this group are quite small, and have, at various points, generally been included as members within other families, though they are all presently considered to be valid, monophyletic groups. The odd, relictual family Myerslopiidae is one of the most recently described of all Hemipteran families.
William Lucas Distant was an English entomologist.
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.
Carayonemidae is a family of scale insects commonly known as carayonemids. They typically live among mosses and leaf litter which is unusual for scale insects. Members of this family come from Neotropical areas of South and Central America.
Oryxa is a genus of insects in the hemipteran family Flatidae. They live on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, and in Malaysia.
Putoidae is a family of scale insects commonly known as giant mealybugs or putoids. There is probably a single genus, Puto, containing about sixty species. The genus name Macrocerococcus has also been used but it is now considered to be a synonym of Puto. The genus Puto was formerly classified as a member of the Pseudococcidae; however, it so significantly differed from the rest of the Pseudococcidae that it was accorded its own family Putoidae.
Issidae is a family of planthoppers described by Spinola in 1839, belonging to the order Hemiptera, suborder Auchenorrhyncha superfamily Fulgoroidea.
Phylloxeridae is a small family of plant-parasitic hemipterans closely related to aphids with only 75 described species. This group comprises two subfamilies and 11 genera with one that is fossil. The genus type is Phylloxera. The Phylloxeridae species are usually called Phylloxerans or Phylloxerids.
Belindo Adolfo Torres (1917-1965) was an entomologist from Argentina.
Aetalionidae are a family of plant-hoppers or tree-hoppers in the superfamily Membracoidea. Aetalionidae are somewhat like Membracidae in that they have one to three rows of short spines on the hind tibia but differ in having the front femur fused to the trochanter and the scutellum is completely exposed. The females have finger-like protrusions on the genital capsule. The family is mostly Neotropical. The subfamily Biturritiinae is Neotropical while the subfamily Aetalioninae has a Neotropical genus Aetalion and the sole Old World representative genus Darthula with a single species Darthula hardwickii.
Ayla Kalkandelen was a Turkish entomologist. Her specialty was in Auchenorrhyncha, a suborder of true bugs or insects order Homoptera. She described ten taxa and has five taxa named after her.
Delphacinae is a subfamily of delphacid planthoppers in the family Delphacidae. There are at least 1,700 described species in Delphacinae.
Tumidagena is a genus of delphacid planthoppers in the family Delphacidae. There are at least three described species in Tumidagena.
