ENY 3005 Family Identification

Homoptera: Fulgoroidea: Dictyopharidae

 Common name: dictyopharid planthoppers

The 11 families comprising the superfamily Fulgoroidea are collectively known as planthoppers. Students in Principles of Entomology need to learn how to distinguish members of this group from the Cicadoidea, especially those in the families Cercopidae and Cicadellidae. Planthoppers are distinguished from other homopterans based on where antennae arise on the head, features of the middle coxae, and wing venation. All families in the Fulgoroidea share these features:

• Antennae located on the side of the head beneath the compound eyes

(not in front of or between the eyes as in the Cicadoidea).
• Middle coxae elongate and separated

(not short and contiguous).
• Two anal veins in the front wing, usually meeting distally to form a Y-vein

(the Cicadoidea have only a single anal vein).

 References:

• Pages 130-134 and plate 4 in D. J. Borror and R. E. White. 1970. A Field Guide to the Insects. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
• Pages 164-166 in R. G. Bland and H. E. Jaques. 1978. How to Know the Insects, 3rd ed. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Co. 409 p.
• Pages 333-335 in D. J. Borror, C. A. Triplehorn, and N. F. Johnson. 1989. An Introduction to the Study of Insects, 6th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders College Publishing. 875 p.
• Page 429 in H. V. Daly, J. T. Doyen, and A. H. Purcell III. 1998. Introduction to Insect Biology and Diversity, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press. 680 p.