Genus Balclutha Kirkaldy, 1900

Museums

Regional Maps

• Balclutha Kirkaldy, G.W. 1900. Bibliographical and nomenclatorial notes on the Rhynchota. No. 1. The Entomologist 33(448): 238-243 [243] [replacement name; for Gnathodus Fieber, 1866].
• Gnathodus Fieber, F.X. 1866. Neue Gattungen und Arten in Homopteren (Cicadina Bur.). Verhandlungen der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien 16: 497-516 [505] [junior homonym; of Gnathodus Pander, 1856].

  Type species:

   Cicada punctata Fabricius, 1775 (=Jassus punctatus (Fabricius, 1775)) by monotypy.
• Eugnathodus Baker, C.F. 1903. On the Gnathodus species of the abdominalis group. Invertebrata Pacifica 1: 1-2 [1].

  Type species:

   Gnathodus abdominalis Van Duzee, 1907 by original designation.
• Nesosteles Kirkaldy, G.W. 1906. Leafhoppers and their natural enemies. Bulletin of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association Experimental Station Entomological Series 1(9): 271-479 [343].

  Type species:

   Nesosteles hebe Kirkaldy, 1906 by original designation.
• Eusceloscopus Evans, J.W. 1942. New leafhoppers (Homoptera: Jassoidea) from Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 27: 143-163 [147].

  Type species:

   Eusceloscopus yanchepensis Evans, 1942 by original designation.
• Anomiana Distant, W.L. 1918. Rhynchota. Homoptera: Appendix. Heteroptera: Addenda. The Fauna of British India including Ceylon and Burma 7(i-viii): 1-210 [109].

  Type species:

   Anomiana longula Distant, 1918 by original designation.
• Agellus DeLong, D.M. & Davidson, R.H. 1933. The genus Agellus, gen. nov. (Homoptera, Cicadellidae). Ohio Journal of Science 33(3): 210 [210].

  Type species:

   Eugnathodus neglecta DeLong & Davidson, 1933 by original designation.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Oshanin, B.F. 1906. Verzeichnis der Palaearktischen Hemipteren mit besondere Berücksichtigung ihrer Verteilung im Russischen Reiche. Band I Heteroptera. Supplement to Annuaire du Musée Zoologique de l'Académie Imperiale des Sciences, St Petersburg. pp. i–lxxiv, 1–393. [185] (synonymy of Eugnathodus)
• Matsumura, S. 1932. The typhlocybid genera of the late Distant. Insecta Matsumurana 6: 190-191 [191] (synonymy of Anomiana)
• Evans, J.W. 1947. A natural classification of leafhoppers (Jassoidea, Homoptera) Part 3. Jassidae. Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London 98(6): 105-271 [248] (synonymy of Nesosteles)
• Linnavuori, R.E. 1959. Revision of the Neotropical Deltocephalinae and some related subfamilies (Homoptera). Annales Zoologici Fennici 20(1): 1-370 [337] (synonymy of Agellus)
• Evans, J.W. 1966. The leafhoppers and froghoppers of Australia and New Zealand. Memoirs of the Australian Museum 12: 1-347 [249] (synonymy of Eusceloscopus)

Introduction

The small greenish (occasionally red or brown), elongate species of Balclutha are almost ubiquitous where grass grows in Australia. The genus was revised in the Pacific region by Knight (1987) who demonstrated that most of the species are widespread and have been redescribed many times in different countries. Knight (1987) therefore rationalised the nomenclature and recognised 98 species, most of which are known from the New World, Africa and the Oriental region. He recorded 12 species in Australia. One additional species has been recorded on Murray Island, Torres Strait, since then. The species are commonly attracted to light.

Excluded Taxa

Misidentifications

Cicadellidae: Balclutha punctata (Fabricius, 1775) [Metcalf (1968) provides 189 locality records for this species with locality 20 being "Australia" and 81 being "Australian region". The only reference bearing a superscript 20 is Esaki & Ito (1954) which lists Australia as one of a number of regions in the distribution of the species without providing any specimen data to support this. Knight (1987) also includes Australia in his distribution list for the species without any specimen data. Oshanin (1906) lists a number of countries in the Palaearctic region and includes the statement "Regiones nearctica (from Canada to Texas), orientalis (Ceylon) et australica (Nova Guinea)." It is probable that this was misinterpreted by Esaki & Ito (1954) as meaning Australia itself and their record perpetuated by Metcalf (1968) and Knight (1987) without supporting evidence. In addition, images of the species available via the internet show a species with distinct dark spots on the tegmina, reflected in the species name, and no Australia specimen has been seen with such spots] — Oshanin, B.F. 1906. Verzeichnis der Palaearktischen Hemipteren mit besondere Berücksichtigung ihrer Verteilung im Russischen Reiche. Band I Heteroptera. Supplement to Annuaire du Musée Zoologique de l'Académie Imperiale des Sciences, St Petersburg. pp. i–lxxiv, 1–393. [185]; Esaki, T. & Ito, S. 1954. A tentative catalogue of Jassoidea of Japan, and her adjacent territories. Ueno Park, Tokyo, Japan : Japan Society for the Promotion of Science 315 pp. [180]; Metcalf, Z.P. 1968. General Catalogue of the Homoptera. Fascicle VI, Cicadelloidea. Part 10, Euscelidae. Raleigh N.C. : North Carolina State College 2695 pp. [2430–2431]; Knight, W.J. 1987. Leafhoppers of the grass-feeding genus Balclutha (Homoptera, Cicadellidae) in the Pacific region. Journal of Natural History 21: 1173-1224 [1189]

Distribution

States

Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia

IBRA and IMCRA regions

IBRA

ACT, NSW, NT, Qld, SA, Tas, Vic, WA: Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Carnarvon (CAR), Central Kimberley (CK), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Dampierland (DL), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Gulf Plains (GUP), Jarrah Forest (JF), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Nandewar (NAN), New England Tablelands (NET), Northern Kimberley (NK), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Pine Creek (PCK), Pilbara (PIL), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Tasmanian South East (TSE), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Wet Tropics (WT)

Other Regions

Christmas Island terrestrial & freshwater, Norfolk Island terrestrial & freshwater, Torres Strait Islands terrestrial, marine & freshwater

Diagnosis

Small slender species, 2.5–4.5 mm. Colour pale green or reddish brown (in Australian species), sometimes marked with reddish or orange, often fading to whitish in collections. Head as wide as pronotum, sometimes narrower or slightly wider. Vertex short, of uniform length, slightly longer medially in one Australian species, anterior margin broadly rounded in dorsal aspect, rounded to face in lateral aspect. Frontoclypeus narrow, laterofrontal sutures extending to medial margin of ocelli. Transclypeal sutures distinct. Clypellus narrow, increasing slightly in width to apex, rarely parallel-sided. Margin of genae next to clypellus very narrow, much narrower than ocellocular area. Ocelli on anterior margin of vertex, visible dorsally, rarely more dorsal, separated from corresponding eye by approximately own diameter, rarely more. Pronotum much longer than vertex, lateral margins short, divergent, sometimes longer; posterior margin transverse or shallowly concave. Forewings elongate; appendix wide, extending around 1st and 2nd apical cells; outer subabpical cell absent; inner subapical cell open basally. Male pygophore broadly or narrowly produced posteriorly, posteroventral margin usually produced, with or without processes; a group of submarginal setae posteriorly, rarely marginal. Subgenital plates triangular, long or short; apex finger-like, membraneous, long or short or rarely absent; a uniseriate row of setae along ventrolateral margin, a small sclerotised tooth usually present on dorsloateral margin. Styles with apical process well developed, usually strongly arched; lateral lobe well developed, rarely reduced; basal arm very short. Connective Y-shaped; stem longer than arms, occasionaly equal to or shorter; articulating with aedeagus which is usually simple, filamentous, recurved anterodorsally, base sometimes expanded; rarely with processes (after Knight 1987).

ID Keys

Fletcher (2009) http://www1.dpi.nsw.gov.au/keys/leafhop/deltocephalinae/ecokey24.htm

Diagnosis References

Knight, W.J. 1987. Leafhoppers of the grass-feeding genus Balclutha (Homoptera, Cicadellidae) in the Pacific region. Journal of Natural History 21: 1173-1224 [1178]

General References

Knight, W.J. 1987. Leafhoppers of the grass-feeding genus Balclutha (Homoptera, Cicadellidae) in the Pacific region. Journal of Natural History 21: 1173-1224

History of changes