Family FLATIDAE Spinola, 1839

Museums

Regional Maps

• Flatidae Spinola, M. 1839. Essai sur les Fulgorelles, sous-tribu de la tribu des Cicadaires, ordre des Ryngotes. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France 8: 133-337 [205].

  Type genus:

   Flata Fabricius, 1798.

Introduction

The Flatidae includes some of the most familiar planthoppers in Australia. The green planthopper, Siphanta acuta (Walker), is common in suburban gardens and has spread across the Pacific to California; it is also known from New Zealand and South Africa. The Pandanus Planthopper, Jamella australiae Kirkaldy, is a pest of Pandanus palms along the eastern coastline of Australia and the Grey Planthopper, Anzora unicolor (Walker), is also familiar on a range of native and exotic host plants and is a recognised pest in New Zealand where it is one of many vectors of fireblight, a bacterial disease of apples. Amongst the cone-headed species, the mango planthopper, Colgaroides acuminata (Walker), and the Citrus Planthopper, Colgar acuminata (Walker), are minor pests of those crops mainly in tropical or subtropical regions. Australia has a largely endemic flatid fauna with some species shared only with New Guinea. Australia also has the world's only species of Flatidae known to cohabit with ants. Eula's Planthopper, Budginmaya eulae Fletcher & Moir, has now been listed as a vulnerable species in Western Australia because of its apparently extremely restricted distribution.

Diagnosis

Hind tibia lacking mobile spur; apex of second hind tarsomere with a single dark spine at each side; clavus of forewing with conspicuous granules.

ID Keys

Fletcher, M.J. (1999) Identification key and checklists for the Planthoppers of Australia and New Zealand (Superfamily Fulgoroidea) https://idtools.dpi.nsw.gov.au/keys/fulgor/index.html

History of changes