Scolypopa australis

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Scolypopa australis
Scolypopa australis adult and nymph.jpg
An adult and two nymphs
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Auchenorrhyncha
Infraorder: Fulgoromorpha
Family: Ricaniidae
Genus: Scolypopa
Species:
S. australis
Binomial name
Scolypopa australis
(Walker, 1851) [1]

Scolypopa australis, commonly known as the passionvine hopper, is a species of insect in the Ricaniidae family of planthoppers (Fulgoroidea) that is native to Australia and was introduced to New Zealand. [1] [2] Despite its name, they are found not only on passion vines, but on many plant species, including kiwifruit and the lantana. [3] [4] Brown with partly transparent wings, they are 5–6 mm long as adults and 5 mm as nymphs. [5] As an adult they look somewhat like a moth to the untrained eye, and walk "like a ballerina". [6] The nymphs are wingless and are informally known as fluffy bums. [6] When sufficiently aroused they will hop off their plant "with a 'snap'". [6] Like all planthoppers they suck plant sap. This leaves a honeydew secretion which bees gather.

Contents

In New Zealand

They were first recorded in New Zealand in 1878, where they are among over 40 species of planthopper, mostly native, but including the introduced Siphanta acuta (green planthoppers), Achilus flammeus (red fingernail bugs) and Anzora unicolor (grey planthoppers), all from Australia. [6] They may be a vector of the 'sudden decline' disease caused by Phytoplasma australiense that has affected the native cabbage tree ( Cordyline australis ), and are a common pest in gardens. [6] They are also found in regrowing forest. [2] They are very common in the summer and autumn north of Nelson. [6] Honey produced by honey bees that consume honeydew secreted on tutin containing tutu plants is known to cause honey poisoning. [7] [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hemiptera</span> Order of insects often called true bugs

Hemiptera is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from 1 mm (0.04 in) to around 15 cm (6 in), and share a common arrangement of piercing-sucking mouthparts. The name "true bugs" is often limited to the suborder Heteroptera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tutu (plant)</span> New Zealand plants in the genus Coriaria

Tutu is a common name of Māori origin for plants in the genus Coriaria found in New Zealand.

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

Treehoppers and thorn bugs are members of the family Membracidae, a group of insects related to the cicadas and the leafhoppers. About 3,200 species of treehoppers in over 400 genera are known. They are found on all continents except Antarctica; only five species are known from Europe. Individual treehoppers usually live for only a few months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honeydew (secretion)</span> Sugar-rich liquid

Honeydew is a sugar-rich sticky liquid, secreted by aphids, some scale insects, and many other true bugs and some other insects as they feed on plant sap. When their mouthpart penetrates the phloem, the sugary, high-pressure liquid is forced out of the anus of the insects, allowing them to rapidly process the large volume of sap required to extract essential nutrients present at low concentrations. Honeydew is particularly common as a secretion in hemipteran insects and is often the basis for trophobiosis. Some caterpillars of Lycaenidae butterflies and some moths also produce honeydew. In addition to various sugars, honeydew contains small amounts of amino acids, other organic compounds, and inorganic salts with its precise makeup affected by factors such as insect species, host plant species, and whether a symbiotic organism is present.

<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">Eurybrachidae</span> Family of true bugs

Eurybrachidae 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.

<i>Pseudococcus viburni</i> Species of true bug

Pseudococcus viburni is a close relative of the grape mealybug and a pest of the vineyards around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beekeeping in New Zealand</span>

Beekeeping in New Zealand is reported to have commenced in 1839 with the importing of two skep hives by Mary Bumby, a missionary. It has since become an established industry as well a hobby activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tutin (toxin)</span> Chemical compound

Tutin is a poisonous plant derivative found in New Zealand tutu plants. It acts as a potent antagonist of the glycine receptor, and has powerful convulsant effects. It is used in scientific research into the glycine receptor. It is sometimes associated with outbreaks of toxic honey poisoning when bees feed on honeydew exudate from the sap-sucking passion vine hopper insect, when the vine hoppers have been feeding on the sap of tutu bushes. Toxic honey is a rare event and is more likely to occur when comb honey is eaten directly from a hive that has been harvesting honeydew from passionvine hoppers feeding on tutu plants.

<i>Cryptolaemus montrouzieri</i> Beetle that eats pest mealybugs

Cryptolaemus montrouzieri, common name mealybug ladybird or mealybug destroyer, is a species of ladybird beetle native to eastern Australia. The beetle feeds on mealybugs and other scale insects, and is used to control those pests on citrus orchards worldwide.

<i>Pheidole megacephala</i> Species of ant

Pheidole megacephala is a species of ant in the family Formicidae. It is commonly known as the big-headed ant in the US and the coastal brown ant in Australia. It is a very successful invasive species and is considered a danger to native ants in Australia and other places. It is regarded as one of the world's worst invasive ant species.

<i>Coccus viridis</i> Species of true bug

Coccus viridis is a soft scale insect in the family Coccidae with a wide host range. It is commonly known as green scale or sometimes coffee green scale because it is a major pest of coffee crops throughout the world.

<i>Metcalfa pruinosa</i> Species of planthopper

Metcalfa pruinosa, the citrus flatid planthopper, is a species of insect in the Flatidae family of planthoppers first described by Thomas Say in 1830.

<i>Coriaria arborea</i> Species of plant

Coriaria arborea is a highly poisonous and common native shrub or small tree of New Zealand. The common name for this and the other New Zealand species of Coriaria is tutu.

<i>Aleurodicus dispersus</i> Species of true bug

Aleurodicus dispersus, the spiralling whitefly, is a species of small, white sap-sucking insect, a true bug in the order Hemiptera. It originated in Central America and the Caribbean region and has spread to many of the world's tropical and subtropical regions, where it has become a major pest of agricultural crops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spotted lanternfly</span> Species of planthopper indigenous to China

The spotted lanternfly is a planthopper indigenous to parts of China and Vietnam. It has spread invasively to Japan, South Korea, and the United States. Its preferred host is tree of heaven, but it infests crops including soybean, grapes, stone fruits, and Malus spp. In its native habitat, L. delicatula populations are regulated by parasitic wasps.

Pyrilla perpusilla, commonly known as the sugarcane planthopper, is a planthopper in the family Lophopidae. It is native to Asia where it feeds on grasses and other plants and is a major pest of sugarcane and sorghum.

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

Scolypopa is a genus of planthoppers in the family Ricaniidae. There are about eight described species in Scolypopa, found mainly in Australia and New Zealand.

<i>Lycorma imperialis</i> Species of insect

Lycorma imperialis is a planthopper indigenous to parts of China and Indo-Malaysia. L. imperialis was originally discovered in 1846 by Adam White and has one recognized non-nominate subspecies, L. i. punicea. L. imperialis has undergone a number of reclassifications since its discovery and is one of four species in the genus Lycorma. L. imperialis follows a hemimetabolous life cycle and will undergo a series of nymphal stages (instars) before maturing to an adult.

<i>Orchamoplatus citri</i> Species of whitefly

Orchamoplatus citri, commonly known as the Australian citrus whitefly, is a whitefly species in the genus Orchamoplatus. It is found across Australia and New Zealand, primarily foraging on the leaves of citrus trees.

References

  1. 1 2 "Species Scolypopa australis (Walker, 1851)". Australian Faunal Directory. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  2. 1 2 Hill, R.L.; Steven, D. (1989). "Scolypopa australis (walker), passionvine hopper (Homoptera: Ricaniidae)". In Cameron, P.J.; Hill, R.L.; Bain, J.; Thomas, W.P. (eds.). A review of biological control of invertebrate pests & weeds in New Zealand 1874-1987. United Kingdom: CAB International. pp. 241–244. ISBN   0-85198-645-5.
  3. Johnson, Judith A. (1998). An introduction to Australian insects. UNSW Press. p. 40. ISBN   0-86840-465-9 . Retrieved 2009-04-23.
  4. Wise, K. A. J. (1995). "Records Concerning Biological Control of Insect Pests by Neuropteroidea (Insecta) in New Zealand". Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum . 32: 101–117. ISSN   0067-0464. JSTOR   42906455. Wikidata   Q58677493.
  5. Martin, N.A. (2017). "Passion vine hopper - Scolypopa australis". Interesting Insects and other Invertebrates. New Zealand Arthropod Factsheet Series Number 111. Landcare Research . Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Crowe, A. (2002). Which New Zealand Insect?. Auckland, N.Z.: Penguin. p. 87. ISBN   0-14-100636-6.
  7. Capinera, John L. (2008). Encyclopedia of Entomology. Springer. p. 2928. ISBN   978-1-4020-6242-1 . Retrieved 2009-04-23.
  8. Beasley, M.; Hood, D.; Anderson, P.; Reeve, J.; Slaughter, R.J. (2018). "Poisoning due to tutin in honey: A report of an outbreak in New Zealand". New Zealand Medical Journal. 131 (1473): 59–71. PMID   29649198.