Subfamily Ulopinae Le Peletier & Serville, 1825

Museums

Regional Maps

• Ulopides Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau, A.L.M. & Audinet-Serville, J.G. 1825. Tettigometre, Tettigometra and Tettigone, Tettigonia. Olivier's Encylopédie méthodique. Histoire naturelle. Entomologie, ou histoire naturelle des Crustacés, des Arachnides et des Insectes 10: 600-613 [602].

  Type genus:

   Ulopa Fallen, 1814.

Introduction

The Ulopinae in Australia comprise two tribes of markedly different appearance. The Cephalelini are elongate, seed mimics while the Ulopini are small, brown, mainly dumpy leafhoppers, slow moving and generally found in cryptic situations. Many species of both tribes lack the ability to fly and most are also incapable of jumping because the hind legs are not elongate and equipped with apical spines as with most other members of the Cicadellidae. The Australian fauna is reasonably diverse with 12 species of Cephalelini in 6 genera and 7 species of Ulopini in 6 genera. The Australian fauna is entirely endemic.

Diagnosis

Jambes postérieures simples (Le Peletier & Serville 1825)

The Ulopinae comprise small leafhoppers, brown in colour, with numerous pits on the head, thorax and tegmina and sometimes with sparse short white hairs. The labium is long, the maxillary suture sometimes distinct, the antennal ledges curved and usually closer to the posterior* than to the anterior corners of the eyes, the antennal depressions deep and the eyes prominent. The veins of the tegmina are sometimes raised in relief and sometimes the venation is obscure, and the tegmina may be elytra-like or reduced to small pads, and wings may be absent (Evans 1947).

*Evans regarded the insertion of the labium to be the most anterior point of the head so in species with an extensive ventral face, the anterior corner of the eyes is towards the rear of the insect while the posterior corner is closer to the apex of the head.

ID Keys

Fletcher, M.J. (2009 and updates). Key to the leafhoppers and treehoppers of Australia and neighbouring areas (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha). http://www1.dpi.nsw.gov.au/keys/leafhop/index.html [accessed: 16.iii.2012]

Diagnosis References

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 [117–118]

Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau, A.L.M. & Audinet-Serville, J.G. 1825. Tettigometre, Tettigometra and Tettigone, Tettigonia. Olivier's Encylopédie méthodique. Histoire naturelle. Entomologie, ou histoire naturelle des Crustacés, des Arachnides et des Insectes 10: 600-613 [602]

History of changes