Genus Achilus Kirby, 1818

Museums

Regional Maps

• Achilus Kirby, W. 1818. XXVIII. A description of several new species of insects collected in New Holland by Robert Brown, Esq. F.R.S. Lib. Linn. Soc. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 12: 454-482 pls XXI-XXIII [474].

  Type species:

   Achilus flammeus Kirby, 1818 by monotypy.

Introduction

The type species is the only Australian species. Metcalf (1948) lists four species, two of which, from Cameroon, were transfered to other genera by Fennah (1950) who stated that the genus only contained one species. The status of A. cixioides Spinola, from Chile, is therefore uncertain.

The type species, known as the "red fungus bug", is the most widely distributed member of the Australian Achilini having been collected from Mt Gambier in South Australia to southern Queensland. The bright red coloration of A. flammeus is distinctive.

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria

IBRA and IMCRA regions

IBRA

NSW, Qld, SA, Vic: Australian Alps (AA), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP)

Diagnosis

Fennah (1950) distinguished the genus by the vertex not being depressed, the anterior marginal carina being obsolete, the second segment of the antennae projecting past the eyes (dorsally), and the convex and rounded shape of the tegmina. In addition to these characters, the vertex is approximately twice as wide as long. Moir & Fletcher (2005) distinguished the genus, in an Australian contex, by the unique colouration of the only included species.

ID Keys

Moir, M.L. and Fletcher, M.J. (2005). Illustrated key to the genera of the tribe Achilini found in Australia (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea: Achilidae)http://www1.dpi.nsw.gov.au/keys/fulgor/achilidae/achili00.htm

Diagnosis References

Fennah, R.G. 1950. A generic revision of the Achilidae (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) 1(1): 1-170 [39]

General References

Fennah, R.G. 1950. A generic revision of the Achilidae (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) 1(1): 1-170 [39]

Metcalf, Z.P. 1948. General Catalogue of the Homoptera. Fascicle IV, Fulgoroidea. Part 10, Achilidae. Raleigh N.C. : North Carolina State College 85 pp. [21]

History of changes