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Title: Sharpshooter Leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadellinae). An Illustrated Checklist. Part 1: Old World Cicadellini

Author
item WILSON, M. - NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WALES
item TURNER, J. - NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WALES
item McKamey, Stuart - Stu

Submitted to: BIOTIR Reports: Studies in Terrestrial and Freshwater Biodiversity and Systematics
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/17/2009
Publication Date: 6/10/2009
Citation: Wilson, M.R., Turner, J.A., Mckamey, S.H. 2009. Sharpshooter Leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadellinae). An Illustrated Checklist. Part 1: Old World Cicadellini. BIOTIR Reports: Studies in Terrestrial and Freshwater Biodiversity and Systematics. 4:1-232.

Interpretive Summary: Some of the most serious pests of leafhoppers are sharpshooters which vector dangerous, and sometimes, fatal pathogenic bacteria to citrus, coffee, grape, and almond. In order to effectively manage these pests, accurate identification is essential. However, identification of the often brightly colored sharpshooters is severely impeded by the great number of species, and the need for dissection of the male even to obtain a higher-level identification to use the single available key. This paper combines a recently published catalogue with high quality imaging of nearly all species that will greatly facilitate species identification. This first installment covers species not occurring in the Western Hemisphere. It provides a tool for more accurate identification of sharpshooter species to governmental agencies such as APHIS, agricultural, and research workers.

Technical Abstract: The leafhoppers comprise by far the largest family within the Hemiptera, with approximately 19,500 described species in over 40 subfamilies (Oman et al. 1990a) of which the subfamily Cicadellinae comprises around 2,400 species in around 330 genera. The name “sharpshooter” for this group of xylem-feeding leafhoppers has increasingly been used especially in the US. They are among the largest and most brightly coloured of the leafhoppers. Some species are important vectors of the xylem-limited bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, which affects both citrus trees in Brazil as well as grapevines in southern US. The Cicadellinae, as currently defined, was revised by David Young (1915–1991) in three remarkable volumes (Young 1968a, 1977a, 1986a). The publication of these works has enabled the evaluation and description of additional genera and species, primarily by researchers in Brazil and China. The availability of these taxonomic monographs and subsequent publications, including the comprehensive catalogue (McKamey 2007) of all changes and additions from 1956 to mid-2006, has made the Cicadellinae a relatively well-known group. In 2004 a project was started, funded by UK-based Leverhulme Trust, which has enabled a compilation of digital images of Cicadellinae.