[Back to Higher classification of Delphacidae]

Family Delphacidae Leach, 1815

Subfamily Delphacinae Leach, 1815

Tribe Delphacini Leach, 1815

Genus Bostaera Ball, 1902: 266.

Note:  This genus placed in the subtribe Numatina by Emeljanov 1993.

Type species (in original combination):  Bostaera nasuta Ball, 1902

Synonyms

= Cochise Kirkaldy, 1907: 63 (type species Cochise apacheanus Kirkaldy 1907: 64); syn. by Muir 1913: 239.
= Tricranoneura Horváth, 1922: 129 (Type species Delphacodes bolivari Melichar 1901b); syn. by Muir 1925b: 279.

Distribution

Two species are found in southern United States, and two from the Old World (Egypt, Israel, Portugal, Spain, Palestine, Canary Islands)

Recognized species

There are three recognized species in this genus (Palearctic species status revised by Della Giustina 2019):

Bostaera balli Penner, 1952 – USA: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina
Bostaera bolivari (Melichar, 1901: 56) – Spain, Palestine, Portugal, Egypt, Israel, Canary Islands
= Delphacodes bolivari Melichar, 1901
= Tricranoneura bolivari (Melichar 1901), comb by Horváth, 1922: 129.
= Bostaera bolivari (Melichar 1901b), comb. by Muir 1925b: 279.
= Bostaera horvathi (Muir, 1934) synonym of Amblycotis horvathi (Muir, 1934) by Fennah (1961): 309
= Amblycotis horvathi (Muir, 1934) synonym of Bostaera bolivari (Melichar, 1901) by Della Giustina (2019): 205
= Bostaera frontalis Lindberg, 1958 synonym by Della Giustina (2019: 215).
= Bostaera gomerense Carl, 1995 synonym by Della Giustina (2019: 215). (Canary Islands)
Bostaera nasuta Ball, 1902: 266 – USA: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, North Carolina, New Mexico, Texas; Mexico (Federal District, Quintana Roo:; Honduras   (Eastern records of this species should be checked – FL, GA, NC records are probably in error).
= Cochise apache Muir, 1913: 239 (lapsus for apacheanus Kirkaldy, 1907).
= Cochise apacheanus Kirkaldy, 1907: 64; syn. by Van Duzee, 1914: 164.

Plant associations

None reported, but in Norch Carolina (Bladen County), B. balli was taken on an unidentified grass.

This one (I know if can’t be identified from this, probably, but it is a start):

Grass from Bladen Co., North Carolina on which Bostaera was found

Predators/parasites

Agonatopoides synchromus Perkins 1907 (Dryinidae, Hymenoptera) on Bostaera nasuta; see by Krombein 1979: 1245).

Economic Importance

Limited.

Recognition

The genus is distinctive and can be recognized among New World genera by the head broader than the pronotum, strongly flattened antennae, the frons widest near the top with the median carina forked low on the face.  The only North American genus that is somewhat similar is Stobaera, which shares flattened antennae and patterned wings. Also somewhat similar is the South American genus Neoperkinsiella.  The species are very similar externally, and differ only in that B. balli has fewer teeth on the aedeagus with the proximal teeth much larger than the distal.  Members of this genus are very similar to the genus Pseudaraeopus Kirkaldy, 1904.  The species of Pseudaraeopus initially described in Bostaera (viz. P. frontalis (Lindberg, 1958)) and one member of Amblycotis (viz. A. horvathi (Muir, 1934)) are now synonyms of Bostaera bolivari (see Della Giustina 2019).

Bostaera balli (Photos by Kimberley Shropshire, University of Delaware)

Bostaera nasuta – Male

Bostaera nasuta – Male

Online resources

EOL
FLOW
Discover Life
Bugguide
BOLD.
3I Interactive Keys and Taxonomic Databases (Dmitry Dmitriev)
GBIF.
El Paso (Salvador Vitanza)

Molecular resources

Genbank has data for Bostaera nasuta (sequenced for 18S, 28S, CO1, WG in Urban et al., 2010).  Bold has sequence data for B. balli.

Selected References

Ball, E. D. 1902a. New genera and species of North American Fulgoridae. Canadian Entomologist 34: 259-266.

Bartlett, C. R. 2002. A new genus and species of delphacid planthopper (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea) from Canada. Entomological News 113(2): 97-102. [comparative note]

Bartlett, C. R., L. B. O’Brien and S. W. Wilson. 2014. A review of the planthoppers (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea) of the United States. Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 50: 1-287.

Carl, M. 1995. Zoogeographie der Zikadenfauna Gomeras (Kanarische Inseln) sowie Beschreibung von Bostaera gomerense sp.n. und Cyphopterum granreyi sp.n. (Hemiptera, Auchenorrhyncha). Mitteilungen Muenchener Entomologischen Gesellschaft.85(20): 57-71.

Della Giustina, W. 2019. Les Delphacidae de France et des pays limitrophes (Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha). Faune de France n°100. 1 & 2: 832 pp. Fédération française des Sociétés de Sciences naturelles, Paris (France).

Emeljanov, A. F. 1993. A new genus of planthoppers of the family Delphacidae from Ethiopia (Homoptera, Cicadina). Zoosystematica Rossica 2(1): 93-96. [scan of poor copy]

Horváth, G. 1922. Note sur le genre Pseudaraeopus Kirk. Annales Historico-Naturales Musei Nationalis Hungarici 19: 129-132.

Kirkaldy, G. W. 1907. Leafhoppers. Hemiptera Homoptera. Bulletin. Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association Experiment Station. Division of Entomology 4: 60-66.

Krombein, K. V. 1979. Catalog of hymenoptera in America north of Mexico, Volume 2 Apocrita (Aculeata). Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. Pp. xvi, 1199-2209.  https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.5074 (see p. 1245)

Leach, W. E. 1815a. Entomology. The Edinburg encyclopedia; conducted by David Brewster 9: 57-172. (family Delphacidae here)

Lindberg, H. 1958. Hemiptera Insularum Caboverdensium. Systematik, Ökologie und Verbreitung des Heteropteren und Cicadinen des Kapverdischen Inseln. 19(1): 131-156.

Melichar, L. 1901. Eine neue Homopteren-Gattung und Art aus der Gruppe Delphacini. Wiener Entomologische Zeitung 20: 55-56.

Metcalf, Z. P. 1943. General Catalogue of the Hemiptera. Fascicle IV, Fulgoroidea, Part 3, Araeopidae (Delphacidae). Smith College, Northhampton, Massachusetts. 552 pp. (see p. 221)

Muir, F. A. G. 1913. On some new Fulgoroidea. Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society 2: 237-269.

Muir, F. A. G. 1934. New and little-known Fulgoroidea (Homoptera). Annals and Magazine of Natural History. London. (Ser. 10) 14: 561-586.

Muir, F.A.G. 1925c. On the genus Amblycotis Stål and Bostaera Ball (Delphacidae, Homoptera). Canadian Entomologist 57: 279.

Penner, L. R. 1952. A new Bostaera from Florida (Homoptera-Delphacidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 25(1): 1-3.

Van Duzee, E. P. 1914b. Mr. Crawford’s recent work on the Delphacinae. Psyche 21(5): 163-166.

Van Duzee, E. P. 1916a. Check list of Hemiptera (excepting the Aphididae, Aleurodidae and Coccidae) of America North of Mexico. New York Entomological Society, New York. 111 pp. [see p. 84]

Van Duzee, E. P. 1917b. Catalogue of the Hemiptera of America North of Mexico (excepting the Aphididae, Coccidae and Aleurodidae). University of California Publications, Technical Bulletins, vol. 2. University of California Press, Berkeley, pp. i-xiv, 1-902. [from Google books] [see p. 771]