[Return to North American Flatidae]

Family Flatidae Spinola, 1839

Subfamily Flatinae Spinola, 1839

Tribe Selizini Melichar, 1923: 86

Genus Paradascalia Metcalf, 1938: 399.

Type species (in original combination):

Cicada grisea Fabricius 1775: 683. (Some sources attribute this species to Fabricius 1794: 28.

Synonyms:

• Dascalia Melichar, 1923: 101 (nec Stål, 1862: 68), unavailable name replaced by Paradascalia Metcalf, 1938: 399.

Distribution:

Central America to extreme SW USA.

Recognized species

There are 9 species currently assigned to this genus:

(Syn. lists to be added later)

1. Paradascalia antigua (Stål, 1862: 12) – Brazil (Rio de Janeiro) = Paradascalia fallaciosa (Stål 1862: 12); syn. by Medler 1994: 217. = Paradascalia fuscoconspersa (Stål 1862: 12); syn. by Medler 1994: 217, 219.
2. Paradascalia breddini (Melichar 1902: 147) – Brazil (Minas Gerais)
3. Paradascalia edax (Van Duzee 1923: 197) – USA: CA; Mexico (Baja California, San Marcos Is., Coronados Island, Monserrate Island, San Diego Island, Carmen Island, Tiburón Island, San Francisco Island, San Jose Island, Cerralvo [Jacques Costeau] Island, Ángel de la Guarda Island, San Lorenzo Island, Espiritu Santo Island)  = Paradascalia fallaciosa (Stål 1962: 12); syn with Paradascalia antigua by Medler 1994: 217. = Paradascalia fuscoconspersa (Stål 1862: 12); syn with P. punctigera (Walker) by Melichar 1902: 145 but syn. with Paradascalia antigua by Medler 1994: 217.
4. Paradascalia grisea (Fabricius, 1775: 683) – Brazil, West Indies
5. Paradascalia lurida (Lethierry, 1890: 148) – Venezuela
6. Paradascalia propria (Melichar, 1902: 146) – South America (Medler 2003 – type material missing)
7. Paradascalia punctata (Schmidt 1904: 373) – Brazil (Para)
8. Paradascalia punctigera (Walker 1858a: 40) – Brazil (Para, Rio de Janeiro)
9. Paradascalia revestita (Melichar 1902: 147) – Brazil (Espirito Santo) = Dascalia revestita Melichar 1902: 147.

List compiled primarily from FLOW (Bourgoin 2013), also Metcalf (1957) and an unpublished list by Lois O’Brien.

Economic Importance:

Limited.

Plant associations:

Paradascalia edax – “Laccodesmia and the related mesquite (Van Duzee 1923: 197” (possibly meant Lygodesmia (Asteraceae), but this is not related to mesquite),Prosopis L. (mesquite, Fabaceae), Larrea tridentata (DC.) Coville (creosote bush, Zygophyllaceae), Sideroxylon L. (bully, Sapotaceae), “pertyle” (and ‘other plants’).

Hosts from Van Duzee (1923), Wilson et al. (1994); plant names from USDA PLANTS or Tropicos.  See also any hosts listed on FLOW.

Recognition:

(Paraphrased from Metcalf’s (1938) key, which in turn is modified from Melichar (1923)).

Sutural angle of tegmina not prolonged, Tegmina ‘not especially’ narrowed distally, tegmina bearing 2 apical lines, broadly curved and parallel to distal margin, 3 carinal lines on “forehead”

Paradascalia is a Neotropical genus.  One species of Paradascalia can be found in southern California, but it is primarily a Mexican species.  Among North American Selizini, this is the only genus where the forewings are slightly narrowed, rather than forming an elongate projection, as in Cyarda and Mistharnophantia.  Paradascalia is much more similar to Dascalia Stål, which tends to be more elongate and has the subapical lines of the tegmina sinuate.  There is a flatid I have seen from far southern Texas that may be in this genus or one of the similar Mexican taxa.

Websites:

None informative.  Paradascalia at FLOW.  Paradascalia is present at Discover Life here, and at Encyclopedia of Life here. Paradascalia is not present on Bugguide. 

Collecting

Paradascalia like many flatids can be taken by inspection, sweeping/beating or sometimes at lights.  Van Duzee (1923) described P. edax from 109 specimens, so it may be common where it occurs.

Molecular resources: 

None. Paradascaila is not in GenBank; or in Barcode of Life. (update: There are a lot of flatid genera on barcode of life, but Paradascalia is not one of them).

Selected references:

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.

Bourgoin, T. 2013 (and updates). FLOW (Fulgoromorpha Lists on The Web): a world knowledge base dedicated to Fulgoromorpha.  Version 8, updated 18.ii.2013. http://hemiptera-databases.org/flow/

Fabricius, J. C. 1775a. Rhyngota. In: Systema entomologiae: sistens insectorum classes, ordines, genera, species, adiectis synonymis, locis, descriptionibus, observationibus. In Officina Libraria Kortii, Flensbvrgi et Lipsiae. 1-816.

Fabricius, J. C. 1794a. Ryngota. In: Entomologia systematica emendata et aucta: secundun classes, ordines, genera, species, adjectis synonimis, locis, observationibus, descriptionibus. Impensis Christ. Gottl. Proft. Hafniae. 4:1-472.

Lethierry, L. F. 1890. Voyage de M. E. Simon au Venezuela (Décembre 1887-Avril 1888) 9e mémoire Hémiptères Homoptères. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France. (Ser. 6) 10: 147-160.

Medler, J. T. 1994. Types of Flatidae (Homoptera) in the Stockholm Museum with lectotype designations. Part 2. Entomologica Scandinavica 25(2): 215-225.

Melichar, L. 1902a. Monographie der Acanaloniiden und Flatiden (Homoptera) (Fortsetzung.). Annalen des k. k. Naturhistorischen Hofmuseums. 17 :1-253. Plate(s): 1-9.

Melichar, L. 1923a. Homoptera, fam. Acanaloniidae, Flatidae et Ricaniidae. Genera Insectorum. Bruxelles 182: 1-185.

Metcalf, Z. P. 1938a. The Fulgorina of Barro Colorado and other parts of Panama. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard College 82: 277-423.

Metcalf, Z. P. 1957. General Catalogue of the Homoptera. Fascicle IV, Fulgoroidea, Part 13, Flatidae and Hypochthonellidae. North Carolina State College, Raleigh, North Carolina. Pp. 1-565.

Spinola, M. 1839. Essai sur les Fulgorelles, sous-tribu de la tribu des Cicadaires, ordre des Rhyngotes. (Suite). Annales de la Société Entomologique de France 8: 339-454.

Schmidt, E. 1904. Neue und bemerkenswerthe Flatiden des Stettiner Museums. Entomologische Zeitung 65: 354-381.

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

Spinola, M. 1839b. Essai sur les Fulgorelles, sous-tribu de la tribu des Cicadaires, ordre des Rhyngotes. (Suite). Annales de la Société Entomologique de France 8: 339-454.

Stål, C. 1862e. Bidrag till Rio Janeiro-traktens Hemipterfauna II. Kongliga Svenska Vetenskaps-Akademiens Handlingar 3(6): 1-75. [pdf is only Fulgoroid portion]

Van Duzee, E. P. 1907a. Notes on Jamaican Hemiptera: A report on a collection of Hemiptera made on the island of Jamaica in the spring of 1906. Bulletin of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences 8(5): 3-79.

Van Duzee, E. P. 1923. Expedition of the California Academy of Sciences to the Gulf of California in 1921 – The Hemiptera (True Bugs, etc.). Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. (Ser. 4) 12: 123-200.

Walker, F. 1858a. Homoptera. In: Insecta saundersiana : or characters of undescribed insects in the collection of William Wilson Saunders. 4: 1-117.

Walker, F. 1858b. Supplement. List of the specimens of Homopterous Insects in the collection of the British Museum 1858: 1-307.

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. In: R. F. Denno and T. J. Perfect, (eds.). Planthoppers: Their Ecology and Management. Chapman and Hall, New York. Pp. 7-45 & Appendix.