Genus Pygospina Caldwell, 1951 in Caldwell and Martorell 1951

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Family Delphacidae Leach, 1815

Subfamily Delphacinae Leach, 1815

Tribe Delphacini Leach, 1815

Genus Pygospina Caldwell, 1951

(in Caldwell and Martorell 1951)

Type species: Pygospina spinata Caldwell, 1951 (in Caldwell and Martorell, 1951)

Distribution

Widespread in the Neotropics.

Recognized species

Five currently recognized species as follows:

Pygospina aurantii (Crawford, 1914: 628) – Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Puerto Rico
= Megamelus aurantii Crawford, 1914; original combination.
= Stenocranus hinei Dozier, 1922; synonym by Muir & Giffard (1924: 16)
= Sogata aurantii (Crawford, 1914); comb. by Muir & Giffard (1924: 16); Muir (1926: 25)
= Liburnia aurantii (Crawford, 1914) comb. by ? (Comb. listed in FLOW, but not in Metcalf 1943: 352.
Pygospina reducta Caldwell, 1951 – Puerto Rico, Suriname (recently reported USA: FL, Costa Rica)
Pygospina rezendensis (Muir, 1926) – Brazil
= Kelisia rezendensis Muir, 1926: 21, original combination.
= Pygospina rezendensis (Muir, 1926); comb. by Caldwell and Martorell, 1951: 169
Pygospina spinata Caldwell, 1951 – USA: Florida, ; Puerto Rico, Belize, Cuba,  Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Suriname, Panama;  Cocos Islands
Pygospina spinigera (Fennah, 1945: 435) – Trinidad (St. Augustine)
= Delphacodes spinigera Fennah, 1945: 435, original combination.
= Pygospina spinigera (Fennah, 1945); comb. by Caldwell and Martorell, 1951: 169

There are also a number of undescribed species.

Economic Importance

Limited. Members of this genus are commonly observed at lights.

Plant associations

Pygospina spinata – Typha domingensis Pers. (Southern Cattail, Typhaceae) (Doud et al. 1997).

See also FLOW for interactions I may have missed (this is all as of 10 Sept. 2017).

Recognition

Members of this genus are similar to Phrictopyga.  They are pale, very slightly flattened and usually with a pale stripe on the thorax. The genitalia are have a midventral process just below the pygofer opening.  Anal segment usually with a midventral spine (absent in Phrictopyga).

(Photos by Kimberley Shropshire, University of Delaware, Dept. of Entomology)

Pygospina reducta

Pygospina spinata

 

Online resources

EOL.
FLOW.
Discover Life.
American Insects. (link to Delphacidae)
Kunzweb gallery. (link to Delphacidae)
BOLD.
Bugguide n/a

Molecular resources

At this time (10 Sep. 2017) Bold has data for Pygospina spinata; do not have any molecular data for this genus.  Genbank has no data for the genus.

Selected References

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. 2016 [2015]. No Kelisia Fieber (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea: Delphacidae) in South America: new taxonomic placement of Phrictopyga vittata (Muir) comb. nov. from Brazil. Entomological News 125(4): 189-292.[comparative note]

Bartlett, C. R. and G. Kunz. 2015. A new genus and species of delphacid planthopper (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea: Delphacidae) from Central America with a preliminary regional species list. Zootaxa 3946(4): 510-518. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.3946.4.2. [erratum subsequently published Zootaxa 3963 (4): 598–600; http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3963.4.7]

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.

Benton E. P. and J. W.  McCreadie. 2009. A preliminary survey of the planthoppers (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea) of coastal Alabama. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 111(2): 354-360.

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

Crawford, D. L. 1914. A contribution toward a monograph of the homopterous insects of the family Delphacidae of North and South America. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 46: 557-640, plus 6 plates.

Doud, C. W., S. W. Wilson and J. H. Tsai. 1997. Descriptions of nymphs of the cat-tail feeding delphacid planthopper Pygospina spinata (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea). Florida Entomologist 80(4): 443-450.

Dozier, H. L. 1922. A synopsis of the genus Stenocranus, and a new species of Mysidia (Homoptera). The Ohio Journal of Science. Columbus 22: 69-82.

Fennah, R. G. 1945. The Fulgoroidea, or lanternflies, of Trinidad and adjacent parts of South America. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 95(3184): 411-520.

Frost, S. W. 1964. Insects taken in light traps at the Archbold Biological Station, Highlands County, Florida. Florida Entomologist 47: 129-161. [Florida record of Pygospina spinata]

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

Metcalf, Z. P. 1943. General catalogue of the Hemiptera. Fasc. IV. Fulgoroidea, Part 3. Araeopidae (Delphacidae), Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts. 552 pp.

Muir, F.A.G. 1926b. Contributions to our knowledge of South American Fulgoroidea (Homoptera). Part I. The Family Delphacidae. Experiment Station of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association, Entomological Series, Bulletin 18:1-51, plates 1-5.

Muir, F. A. G. and W. M. Giffard. 1924. Studies in North American Delphacidae. Bulletin. Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association Experiment Station. Division of Entomology15: 1-53.

Rodriguez-León, R., N. Novoa and M. M. Hidalgo-Gato. 1994b. Nuevos registros de homópteros para Cuba (Fulgoroidea: Cixiidae, Delphacidae, Tropiduchidae). Cocuyo 1: 4. [Cuban record of Pygospina spinata]

Tsai, J. H. and F. W. Mead. 1982. Rotary net survey of homopterans in palm plantings in south Florida. Journal of Economic Entomology 75(5): 809-812. [Florida record of Pygospina spinata]