Genus Agoo Bahder & Bartlett 2019

[back to Classification of the Derbidae]
[back to North American Derbidae]

Family Derbidae Spinola, 1839

Subfamily Derbinae Spinola, 1839

Tribe Cenchreini Muir, 1917

Genus: Agoo Bahder and Bartlett 2019 

(as subgenus of Omolicna Fennah 1945)

Type species: Omolicna (Agoo) xavieri Bahder & Bartlett, 2019

**Bahder et al. (2020) gave Agoo the new status of a full genus from Omolicna Fennah, 1945: 440.

Synonyms

None

Distribution

Nearctic and Neotropics: USA:FL to Brazil, including the Caribbean.

Recognized species

There are 13 species in the genus, all Neotropical.

Neotropical species

Agoo argutiola Bahder & Bartlett, 2020 – Brazil
Agoo beani Bahder & Bartlett, 2020 – Jamaica
Agoo cocoana (Rodríguez-Léon & Hidalgo-Gato, 2005: 138) –  Cuba
= Omolicna cocoana Rodríguez-Léon & Hidalgo-Gato, 2005.
= Agoo cocoana (Rodríguez-Léon & Hidalgo-Gato, 2005); comb. by  Bahder et al. 2020: 258.
Agoo dahliana Bahder & Bartlett, 2020 – Costa Rica
Agoo fulvus (Van Duzee, 1909) ) [Metcalf 1945: 102] – USA: FL; Cuba; Panama.
= Cenchrea fulva Van Duzee, 1909: 195
= Phaciocephalus fulvus (Van Duzee, 1909); comb. by Myers 1926: 91, 103; also Fennah 1952: 136.
= Syntames fulvus (Van Duzee, 1909); comb. by Metcalf 1938: 328.
= Omolicna fulvus (Van Duzee, 1909); comb. by implication Fennah 1952: 136; also Wilson & McPherson 1980b: 13.
= Omolicna fulva (Van Duzee, 1909); emendation by O’Brien 1982b: 320.
Agoo galbina Cantanhede, Viegas & Ale-Rocha, 2024 – Brazil
Agoo keili Bahder & Bartlett, 2025 – Costa Rica
Agoo kizini Pinedo-Escatel & Blanco-Rodríguez, 2025 – Mexico (Yucatán, Quintana Roo).
Agoo luzdenia Bahder & Bartlett, 2020 – Costa Rica
Agoo palmalopezi Pinedo-Escatel & Blanco-Rodríguez, 2025 – Mexico (Tabasco).
Agoo rubrimarginata Fennah, 1945: 442. – Trinidad
= Omolicna rubrimarginata Fennah, 1945: 442
=  Agoo rubrimarginata (Fennah, 1945), comb. by Bahder et al. 2019)
Agoo spina Bahder & Bartlett, 2020 – Brazil
Agoo xavieri Bahder & Bartlett, 2019 – Costa Rica
= Omolicna (Agoo) xavieri Bahder & Bartlett, 2019
= Agoo xavieri Bahder & Bartlett, 2019, revised status by Bahder et al 2020.

Economic Importance

Found on palms, including the coconut palm, and is a possible pathogen vector.  Unambiguous evidence of pathogen transmission from derbids has not been demonstrated.

Plant associations

At present, known only from palms (Arecaceae)

Agoo dahliana – Astrocaryum alatum H.F. Loomis (Arecales, Arecaceae) according to Bahder et al. (2020: 531).
Agoo kizini – palms; Adonidia merrillii, Cocos nucifera, Livistona chinensis, Pritchardia pacifica, Sabal mexicana, Thrinax radiata, and Washingtonia robusta.
Agoo palmalopezi – Washingtonia robusta
Agoo xavieri – Coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L.), Arecaceae

Hosts from Bahder et al. 2019, 2020; plant names from USDA PLANTS or Tropicos.

Recognition

An amended description from Bahder et al. (2019) is as follows

The members of this genus can be separated from similar cenchreine derbids by the relatively broad vertex with pit-like sensoria bordering the lateral margins (these pits were given as a tribal feature in Emeljanov (1995). Vertex wider than long (midline less than 2x as long as broad at widest part), medially concave, with the lateral margins diverging caudally. Frons moderately compressed, elongate, narrowed between eyes, without a longitudinal median carina, lateral margins foliately keeled. A scroll-like extension of the lateral aspect of the pronotum partially surrounds and subtends the base of the antennae forming antennal fossae (a tribal feature). Forewings with pits on postcubitus in clavus (a tribal feature), clavus closed (combined Pcu + A1 reaching CuP), extending beyond midlength of forewing. The male pygofer with a median ventral process, phallotheca (periandrium) with terminal flagellum (endosoma) folded anterodorsally with an asymmetrical arrangement of spines.

Agoo is described as follows

Frons narrower and paranota more strongly foliate than subgenus Omolicna. Ventral lobe of pygofer (ventral view) broad, distally attenuating to rounded apex. Aedeagus and endosoma nearly bilaterally symmetrical. Segment 10 elongate, ventrally sinuate (lacking convexity found in most Omolicna s.s.).

Agoo can often be separated from Omolicna by the much narrower face. The two genera also differ in the form of male terminalia. Agoo appears to be quite similar to Cenanges Fennah, 1952, from Dominica.

Support for the subgenus Agoo is given by the 18S gene, which differs by about 10.6% from O. brunnea, O. triata, and O. joi (which differed from each other by 0.1-0.9%) (Bahder et al. 2019)

Key to the species of Agoo (from an unpublished key)
1. Process present on the dorsal surface of paramere, sclerotized points on parameres; pair of processes on aedeagus situated posterior, wings with distinct black spots … Agoo dahliana
1’. Process absent on the dorsal surface of paramere, sclerotization on parts of parameres
variable … 2
2. Body yellow, wings with stripe on forewing 3
2’. Body Fuscous, wings hyaline … Agoo rubrimarginata
3. The Stripe on forewing terminating in red with the distal black spot; parameres with sclerotized lateral ridge … Agoo sp. n. (ms in prep)
3’. The stripe on forewing fuscous, no sclerotization on parameres … Agoo xavieri

Online resources

TaxonPages. World Auchenorrhyncha database.
bugguide.
FLOW.
GBIF.
Discover Life.
iNaturalist.

Collecting

So far, by inspection, at lights, or beating palms.

Molecular resources 

GenBank has data for most Agoo species. BOLD database has data from 19 specimens, with only Agoo dahliana recorded at the species.

Selected references

Bahder, B.W., C.R. Bartlett, E.A.B. Barrantes, M.A.Z. Echavarria, A.R. Humphries, E.E. Helmick, M.S. Ascunce & E.M. Goss. 2019. A new species of Omolicna (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Fulgoroidea: Derbidae) from coconut palm in Costa Rica and new country records for Omolicna brunnea and Omolicna triata. Zootaxa 4577 (3): 501–514. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4577.3.5

Bahder, B.W., C.R. Bartlett, E.E. Helmick, E.A.B. Barrantes, M.A.Z. Echavarria, E.M. Goss & M.S. Ascunce. 2020. Revised status of Omolicna subgenus Agoo (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Fulgoroidea: Derbidae) with a new species from Costa Rica and new country records. Zootaxa 4718(4): 521–535.

Bahder, B.W., D.-F. Mou, C.R. Bartlett, E.E. Helmick, A. Bertaccini & W. Myrie. 2020. A new species of planthopper in the genus Agoo Bahder & Bartlett (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea: Derbidae) from coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L.) in Jamaica. Zootaxa, 4853(2): 254–264. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4853.2.6

Bahder, B.W., Echavarria, M.A.Z., Barrantes, E.A.B., Kunz, G., Helmick, E.E. & Bartlett, C.R. 2020. A new species of planthopper in the genus Agoo (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea: Derbidae) from coquito palms (Astrocaryum alatum) in Costa Rica. Zootaxa 4779(3): 409–418. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4779.3.8

Barrantes, E.A.B., Echavarria, M.A.Z., Bartlett, C.R., Helmick, E.E. & Bahder, B.W. 2025. Multi-local analysis supports the transfer of Omolicna fulva to the genus Agoo and establishment of a new species in the genus from Costa Rica. Zootaxa 5584(1): 113–125. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5584.1.7

Cantanhede, I., Viegas, E.F.G. & Ale-Rocha, R. 2024. The first record of Agoo Bahder & Bartlett, 2019 (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea: Derbidae) for the state of Amazonas, Brazil, with the description of a new species. Entomological Communications, 6, 1–4. https://doi.org/10.37486/2675-1305.ec06036

Dollet, M., Fidelis, E.G., dos Passos, E.M., da Silva, F.G., Aberlenc, H.-P., Schurt, D.A., Bahder, B.W., Diniz, L.E.C. & Bartlett, C.R. 2020. Derbid planthoppers (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea: Derbidae) associated with coconut and oil palm in Brazil. Neotropical Entomology, 49, 722–738. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-020-00788-5

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.

Fennah, R.G. 1952. On the generic classification of Derbidae (Fulgoroidea), with descriptions of new Neotropical species. Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London 103(4): 109–170.

Halbert, S.E., S.W.Wilson, B. Bextine & S.B. Youngblood. 2014. Potential planthopper vectors of palm phytoplasmas in Florida with a description of a new species of the genus Omolicna (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea). Florida Entomologist 97(1): 90–97.

Metcalf, Z.P. 1945. General Catalogue of the Hemiptera. Fascicle IV, Fulgoroidea, Part 4, Derbidae. Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts. [species in Phaciocephalus or Syntames]

Muir, F.A.G. 1917. The Derbidae of the Philippine Islands. Philippine Journal of Science 12: 49–105.

O’Brien, L.B. 1982. Two Neotropical derbid genera with observations on wing rolling (Fulgoroidea: Homoptera). Florida Entomologist 65(3): 306–321.

Palma Cancino, P., J.A. Pinedo-Escatel, E. Blanco-Rodríguez, B.W. Bahder & C. Ortiz. 2025. Two new species of the palm-feeding planthopper genus Agoo (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea: Derbidae) from southern Mexico. Zootaxa 5706, 279–291. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5706.2.8

Spinola, M. 1839. Essai sur les Fulgorelles, sous-tribu de la tribu des Cicadaires, ordre des Rhyngotes. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France 8: 133–337.