Family ACHILIDAE Stål, 1866

Museums

Regional Maps

• Achilida Stål, C. 1866. Hemiptera Homoptera Latr. Hemiptera Africana 4: 1-276 [130].

Introduction

The Australian Achilidae are mainly drab, brown, flattened planthoppers living in cryptic situations such as in leaf litter or under logs. However, there are some spectacular exceptions to this description. Achilis flammeus Kirby is bright pinkish red with pale spots, the species of Aneipo are also brightly coloured and there are a number of genera with bright green species. In addition, the Tropiphlepsiini are bilaterally compressed and have the apices of the tegmina vertically aligned with each other rather than overlapping. The species, as nymphs at least and possibly also as adults, are reportedly fungal feeding although whether this applies to all species is unknown.
Fennah (1950) in providing a generic revision of the family noted that they belong to a group of planthoppers including the Achilixiidae, Meenoplidae and Kinnaridae. This group is united by the following features (1) a simple egg, (2) a cryptic nymphal life, (3) a reduced or obsolete ovipositor, (4) a tubular phallobase and a greatly reduced or obsolete phallus (5) a long second post-tarsal joint, (6) a rostrum with a long apical segment and (7) a primitive tegminal venation (Fennah 1950).
Emeljanov (1991) placed all the achilid tribes recognised by Fennah (1950) into the subfamily Achilinae, reduced Achilixiidae to a subfamily of the Achilidae and added a new subfamily Bebaeotinae. Only the Achilinae have been recorded in Australia.

Diagnosis

"The tegminae have no costal area, claval veins distinct, the claval stem entering apex of clavus, and the apical area of tegminae is usually enlarged beyond the apex of the clavus" (Metcalf 1938).
The distal termination of the united claval veins in the apex of the clavus, rather than in the hind margin of the tegmen before the apex of the clavus, is usually sufficient to differentiate this family from related families.

ID Keys

https://idtools.dpi.nsw.gov.au/keys/fulgor/index.html

Diagnosis References

Metcalf, Z.P. 1938. The Fulgorina of Barro Colorado and other parts of Panama. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard 82: 277-423 [367]

General References

Emeljanov, A.F. 1991. Toward the problem of the limits and subdivisions of Achilidae (Homoptera, Cicadina). Entomologicheskoe Obozrenie (English translation as Entomological Reviews) 71(2): 373-393

Fennah, R.G. 1950. A generic revision of the Achilidae (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) 1(1): 1-170

History of changes