Family Delphacidae Leech, 1821

Subfamily Delphacinae Leech, 1821

Tribe Delphacini Leech, 1821

Genus Achorotile Fieber, 1866: 521

Genus synonyms

   = Achrotile misspelling by Scudder (1963: 167) corrected by Wilson (1992: 82)
   = Achorotele misspelling by Ashmead, 1889: 27.
   = Achortile misspelling by Muir, 1915: 297.

Distribution: Mostly northern Holarctic (some species circum-boreal), most species western North American.

Type species (in original combination):  Delphax albosignata Dahlbom, 1850: 199.

Subgenera

  Laccoscyta Anufriev and Emeljanov, 1981 (type species in original combination Ditropis longicornis Sahlberg, 1871) includes Achorotile transbaicalica in addition to the type species.

  Criochora Anufriev and Emeljanov, 1981 (type species Achorotile caecianta) includes only the type species.

  Achorotile Fieber includes all species in the genus not explicitly placed in the other two subgenera.

Subgeneric assignment (below) following FLOW.

Recognized species

There are 14 recognized species in the genus (the subgeneric assignment of A. acuta & A. coloradensis are not clear to me).

Achorotile acuta Scudder, 1963 - Canada: Alberta, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon
Achorotile (Achorotile) albosignata (Dahlbom, 1850: 199) - Europe, Russia
Achorotile (Criochora) angulata Beamer, 1954 - USA: Colorado
Achorotile (Criochora) apicata Hamilton 2002: 16 - USA: Utah
Achorotile (Criochora) caecianta Emeljanov, 1976: 360 - Russia
Achorotile coloradensis Beamer, 1954 - USA: Colorado
Achorotile (Criochora) curvata Beamer, 1954 - USA: Arizona
Achorotile (Criochora) distincta Scudder, 1963 - Canada: Alberta, British Columbia. Yukon
Achorotile (Criochora) foeveata Spooner, 1912: 241- USA: California, ?Wyoming
Achorotile(Laccoscyta) longicornis (Sahlberg, 1871: 474) - Finland, Poland, Russia, Sweden
Achorotile (Achorotile) nobilis Dlabola, 1961: 316 - Romania
Achorotile (Criochora) pediforma Beamer, 1954 - USA: Washington
Achorotile (Criochora) stylata Beamer, 1954 - USA: Wyoming; Canada: Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon
Achorotile (Criochora) subarctica Scudder, 1963 - USA: Alaska; Canada: Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories; Mongolia, Russia
Achorotile (Laccoscyta) transbaicalica Kusnezov, 1929: 169 - ?Canada: NW Territories; Russia, Turkestan

(I have found a comment that A. curvata may be the same as A. distincta, but I can not verify that this synonymy has been published at this time).

Hosts: Presumably grass feeders.  Achorotile albosignata is possibly on Festuca or Agrostis grasses.  Achorotile distincta is reported from Calamagrostis rubescens (a grass) and Carex sp. (a sedge); A. stylata is reported from Poa pratensis (sources Nickel, 2003; Wilson et al. 1994).

Economic Importance: Limited.

Recognition

The genus is easily recognized by sensory pits on the face and body and paired carinae of the face.  Males and females can be dissimilar in color pattern.  Diagnosis of species is sometimes difficult.

Achorotile angulata

Achorotile coloradensis

Achorotile curvata

 

Achorotile distincta

Male

Female

Achorotile pediforma

Achorotile stylata

Websites: Oddly, this genus is not present on Bugguide (link to Delphacini genus list); Achorotile is here on Discover Life.

Link to Achorotile in Denmark's Fauna viz.p. 65 of

Jensen-Haarup, A. C. 1920a. Cikader. In: Danmarks Fauna Illustrerede Haandbøger over den Danske dyreverden med Statsunderstøttelse udgivne af Dansk Naturhistorisk Forening. G. E. C. Gads. København. 1920:1-189.

Molecular resources: Achorotile is here on Genbank with data for 3 species at this time (A. distincta, A. stylata, and A. subartica). On Barcode of Life (BOLD) there are now data for 7 identified taxa (although the genus is misspelled as "Achrotile").

 

Selected references

Anufriev, G. A. and A. F. Emeljanov. 1981. The genus Achorotile Fieb. (Homoptera: Delphacidae) and its systematics in the Palearctic Region. Entomological Review 60: 87-97.

Ashmead, W. H. 1889b. A generic synopsis of the Fulgoridae. (Concluded.). Entomologica Americana 5: 21-28.

Beamer, R. H. 1954. A revision of the genus Achorotile in America North of Mexico. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 27(4): 143-147.

Dahlbom, A. G. 1850a. Anteckningar öfver Insekter, som blifvit observerade på Gottland och i en del af Calmare Län, under sommaren 1850. Svenska vetenskaps-akademiens handlingar 1850:155-229. [p. 199, description of Delphax albosignata]

Dlabola, J. 1961. Die Zikaden von Zentralasien, Dagestam und Trankav Kasien (Homoptera: Auchenorrhyncha). Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 34: 241-358.

Emeljanov, A. F. 1976. New genera and species of leafhoppers (Homoptera, Auchenorrhyncha) from the Northeast of the USSR. Entomologicheskoe Obozrenie 55(2): 357-363. [in Russian]

Fieber, F. X. 1866b. Grundzüge zur generischen Theilung der Delphacini. Verhandlungen der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Zoologish-botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien 16: 517-534. [p. 521 original description of Achorotile].

Hamilton, K.G.A. 2002 Homoptera (Insecta) in Pacific Northwest grasslands. Part 1 - New and revised taxa of leafhoppers and planthoppers (Cicadellidae and Delphacidae). Journal of the Entomological Society of British Columbia 99: 3-31. [p. 16, description of A. apicata]

Kusnezov, V. 1929. Beitrag zur Kenntnis der transbaikalischen Homopteren fauna. Wiener Entomologische Zeitung 46: 157-185.

Muir, F.A.G. 1915d. A contribution towards the taxonomy of the Delphacidae. Canadian Entomologist 47: 296-302.

Nickel, H. 2003. The Leafhoppers and Planthoppers of Germany (Hemiptera, Auchenorrhyncha), Patterns and strategies in a highly diverse group of phytophagous insects , Pensoft Series Faunistica 28, Sofia, Bulgaria.

Scudder, G.G.E. 1963. Studies on the Canadian and Alaskan Fulgoromorpha (Hemiptera).I. The genera Achrotile [sic] Fieber and Laccocera Van Duzee (Delphacidae). Canadian Entomologist 95: 167-177. [Not a good PDF]

Spooner, C. S. 1912. Some new species of Delphacidae. Canadian Entomologist 44: 233-242.

Sahlberg, J. R. 1871. Ofversigt af Finlands och den Skandinaviska hälfons Cicadariae. I. Notiser ur Sällskapets pro Fauna et Flora Fennica Förhandlingar 9(12): 1-506.

Wilson, M. R. 1992. The Delphacidae of Yukon Territory, Canada (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea). Insecta Mundi 6(2): 79-100.

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. [host information in the appendix].