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Family Delphacidae Leach, 1815

Subfamily Delphacinae Leach, 1815

Tribe Delphacini Leach, 1815

Genus Neomegamelanus McDermott, 1952

Type species (in original combination):  Megamelanus lautus Metcalf, 1923 .

Distribution

East and Gulf coast of the US and Mexico; Bermuda, Caribbean.

Recognized species

Five valid species plus one species as follows:

Neomegamelanus dorsalis (Metcalf, 1923) – see N. spartini

Neomegamelanus elongatus (Ball, 1905) – USA: CT, DE, FL, GA, LA, MA, MD, MS, NC, NJ, NY, SC, TX, VA; Anguilla, Bahamas (Abaco Cay, Andros, Barry, Eleuthera, Exuma Cays, San Salvador)
= Megamelanus elongatus Ball, 1905: 118.
= Neomegamelanus elongatus (Ball, 1905); comb. by McDermott 1952: 50-51.

Neomegamelanus elongatus reductus (Caldwell, 1951) – Puerto Rico, Vieques Is

Neomegamelanus graminicola (Muir, 1928) – Bermuda
= Megamelanus graminicola Muir, 1928
= Neomegamelanus graminicola (Muir, 1928); comb. by Wilson & Hilburn (1991)

Neomegamelanus lautus (Metcalf, 1923) – USA: LA, MS, TX; Mexico (Veracruz)
= Megamelanus lautus Metcalf, 1923: 200.
= Neomegamelanus lautus (Metcalf, 1923); comb. by McDermott 1952: 52-54.

Neomegamelanus penilautus McDermott, 1952 – USA: Florida

Neomegamelanus spartini (Osborn, 1905) – USA: DE, FL, LA, MD, ME, MS, NC, NJ, NY, VA, VT (reported in error: USA: OH; VT may be mislabeled specimen)
= Megamelanus spartini Osborn, 1905: 375.
= Megamelanus dorsalis Metcalf, 1923: 199.
= Neomegamelanus spartini (Osborn, 1905); comb. by McDermott 1952: 41.
= Neomegamelanus dorsalis (Metcalf, 1923); comb. by McDermott 1952: 48-49.
= Neomegamelanus dorsalis (Metcalf, 1923); Syn. by Kennedy et al. 2012: 404-405.

Plant Associations

All appear to be in coastal marshes, expected to be Spartina feeders.

Neomegamelanus spartini (as dorsalis) – Spartina patens (Aiton) Muhl. (saltmeadow cordgrass)
Neomegamelanus elongatus – Spartina patens (Aiton) Muhl.
Neomegamelanus elongatus reductus – Sporobolus virginicus (L.) Kunth  (seashore dropseed)

Hosts from  Caldwell & Martorell (1951: 164), Raupp and Denno (1979),  Wilson et al. (1994), Wilson (2012) and FLOW.

Economic Importance

Limited.

Recognition

Unusual fragile appearing, long-headed species.  The head bears a unique carina between the top of the compound eye, across the temple, to the lateral carina of the frons, which is absent in the similar Tumidagena.  All species in coastal marshes where they are often abundant.  Ecological aspects of Neomegamelanus species frequently noted in work by Denno and colleagues, although most of this literature relates more directly to Prokelisia species.

Neomegamelanus spartini (male, female is not as dark; note dark legs)

Neomegamelanus spartini (female, note dark legs)

Neomegamelanus elongatus (females are paler; note pale legs)

 

 

Online resources

BOLD.
Bugguide.
Discover Life.
Hoppers of North Carolina.
FLOW.

Molecular resources

At this time both Genbank or BOLD have rather limited molecular data on N. elongatus.

References

Ball, E. D. 1905a. Some new Homoptera from the south and southwest. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 18: 117-120.

Barringer, L. E. and C. R. Bartlett. 2018. Pennsylvania planthoppers (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Fulgoroidea): relative abundance and incidental catch using novel trapping methods. Insecta Mundi 0661: 1–31.

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.

Bickley, W. E. and T. R. Seek. 1975. Insects in four Maryland Marshes. University of Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station Miscellaneous Publication 870: 1-27.

Caldwell, J. S. and L. F. Martorell. 1951 [dated1950]. Review of the Auchenorynchous Homoptera of Puerto Rico. Part II. The Fulgoroidea except Kinnaridae. Journal of Agriculture of the University of Puerto Rico 34(2): 133-269.

Cummins, J. D.; S. W. Wilson, P. D. Calvert, and J. H. Tsai. 1988. Neomegamelanus elongatus (Homoptera: Delphacidae): descriptions of immatures. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 96(3): 260-265.

Davis, L. V. and I. E. Gray. 1966. Zonal and seasonal distribution of insects in North Carolina salt marshes. Ecological Monographs 36: 275-295.

Denno, R. F. 1980. Ecotope differentiation in a guild of sap-feeding insects on the salt marsh grass, Spartina patens. Ecology 61(3):702-714.

Denno, R. F., G. K. Roderick and K. L. Olmstead. 1991. Density-related migration in planthoppers (Homoptera: Delphacidae): the role of habitat persistence. American Naturalist 138: 1513-1541.

Kennedy, A. C., C. R. Bartlett and S. W. Wilson. 2012. An annotated checklist of the delphacid planthoppers (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) of Florida with the description of three new species and the new genus, Meristopsis. Florida Entomologist 95(2): 395-421.

Lago, P. K. and S. Testa III. 2000. The terrestrial Hemiptera and auchenorrhynchous Homoptera of Point Clear Island and surrounding marshlands, Hancock County, Mississippi. Journal of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences 45: 186-195.

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

McCoy, E. D. and J. R. Rey. 1981. Patterns of abundance, distribution, and alary polymorphism among the salt marsh Delphacidae (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea) of northwest Florida. Ecological Entomology 6(3): 285-291.

McDermott, B. T. 1952. A revision of the genus Megamelanus and its allies (Homoptera, Fulgoroidea, Delphacidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 25: 41-49.

Meagher, R. L., Jr., S. W. Wilson, H. D. Blocker, R.V.W. Eckel and R. S. Pfannenstiel. 1993. Homoptera associated with sugarcane fields in Texas. Florida Entomologist 76: 508-514.

Metcalf, Z. P. 1923. A key to the Fulgoridae of Eastern North America with descriptions of new species. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 38: 139-230.

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

Metcalf, Z. P. 1949. The redescription of twenty‑one species of Araeopidae described in 1923. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 65: 48‑60.

Muir, F. A. G. 1928. A new species of Megamelanus, Ball, from Bermuda (Homoptera, Delphacidae). Annals and Magazine of Natural History. London. (Ser. 10) 2: 213-215.

Osborn, H. 1905. Descriptions of new North American Fulgoridae. The Ohio Naturalist. Columbus 5: 373-376.

Raupp, M. J. and R. F. Denno. 1979. The influence of patch size on a guild of sap-feeding insects that inhabit the salt marshed grass Spartina patens. Environmental Entomology 8(3): 412-417.

Tsai, J. H. and F. W. Mead. 1982. Rotary net survey of homopterans in palm plantings in south Florida. Journal of Economic Entomology 75: 809-812.

Wilson, S. W. 2012. Tymbal morphology and co-occurrence of Spartina sap-feeding insects (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha). Great Lakes Entomologist 45(3-4): 166-184.

Wilson, M. R. and D. J. Hilburn. 1991. Annotated list of the Auchenorrhynchous Homoptera (Insecta) of Bermuda. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 84(4): 412-419.

Wilson, S. W. and J. E. McPherson. 1980b. The distribution of the Fulgoroidea of the eastern United States (Homoptera). Transactions of the Illinois Academy of Science 73(4): 7‑20.

Wilson, S. W., C. Mitter, R. F. Denno and M. R. Wilson. 1994. Evolutionary patterns of host plant use by delphacid planthoppers and their relatives.  Pp. 7-45 & Appendix. In: R.F. Denno and T.J. Perfect, (eds.). Planthoppers: Their Ecology and Management. Chapman and Hall, New York.

Wolcott, G. N. 1950 [dated 1948]. The insects of Puerto Rico. Journal of Agriculture of the University of Puerto Rico 32: 1-224.