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The 'Auchenorhyncha' is the suborder of the Hemiptera which contains most of the familiar members of what was traditionally called the 'Homoptera' - groups such as cicadas, leafhoppers, treehoppers, planthoppers, and spittlebugs. The aphids and scale insects are the other well-known "Homoptera", and they are in the suborder Sternorrhyncha. Distributed worldwide, all members of this group are plant-feeders. It is also common for Auchenorrhyncha to produce either audible sounds or substrate vibrations as a form of communication.

Contents

Classification

External Links

Reference

Classification

There has been a fair bit of debate and uncertainty as to whether the Auchenorrhyncha is a monophyletic group or not; some authors, believing it was not, split it into two suborders, the 'Clypeorrhyncha' (= Cicadomorpha) and the 'Archaeorrhyncha' (= Fulgoromorpha). In the last 10 years there has been evidence to support this interpretation, and the most recent research indicates that the Auchenorrhyncha are indeed a paraphyletic lineage.
Well-known groups in the Auchenorrhyncha include:

★ cicadas - (Cicadidae)

★ froghoppers, also known as spittlebugs - (Cercopidae and allied families)

★ treehoppers - (Membracidae)

★ leafhoppers - (Cicadellidae)

★ planthoppers - (Fulgoroidea)

External Links

★ Bibliography of the Auchenorrhyncha of Central Europe

Reference

Sorensen J.T., Campbell B.C., Gill R.J., Steffen-Campbell J.D., 1995. Non-monophyly of Auchenorrhyncha ("Homoptera"), based upon 18S rDNA phylogeny: eco-evolutionary and cladistic implications with pre-Heteropteroidea Hemiptera (s.l.) and a proposal for new monophyletic suborders. ''Pan-Pacific Entomologist'', 71 (1): 31-60