Family Delphacidae

Subfamily Delphacinae

Tribe Delphacini

Distribution: Two species are known from the United States and Canada, and two are known from the Neotropics.

Type species (in original combination):  Caenodelphax teapae Fennah, 1965

Recognized species

There are four recognized species in this genus:

Caenodelphax atridorsum (Beamer, 1947) - USA: Oregon
Caenodelphax nigriscutellata (Beamer, 1947) - USA: Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Canada: Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario
Caenodelphax philyra (Fennah, 1959) - St. Lucia
Caenodelphax teapae (Fowler, 1905) - USA: Florida, Texas; Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Peru, St. Vincent, Tobago, Trinidad, Venezuela

Hosts:

Caenodelphax teapae reported from:

Urochloa plantaginea (Link) R. Webster (plantain signalgrass)

Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. (Bermudagrass)

Paspalum notatum Flueggé (bahiagrass)

Phaseolus vulgaris L.(kidney bean)

Host data from Wilson (2005) and specimen label data (NMNH). Plant names from USDA Plants Database.

Economic Importance: Caenodelphax teapae is a widespread pest in the Neotropics; transmits Urochloa hoja blanca virus (UHBV) in plantain signalgrass.

Recognition

This genus was redefined by Hamilton (2002). Key diagnostic features of Caenodelphax include a narrow crown, black dorsum, and small, knife-shaped calcar. The calcar is similar to that of Delphacodes campestris (Van Duzee), Eurybregma, and Kosswigianella; these genera, however, are characterized by having wide heads, whereas species with a similarly narrow crown typically have large, foliaceous calcars. Caenodelphax species typically have pale, contrasting antennae and a dark frons, although variation in color can be seen. Some sexually dimorphic coloration is observed in Nearctic species, with females appearing pale tan; in these individuals, the antennae are not contrasting with the frons.

Caenodelphax teapae male macropter

Caenodelphax teapae male brachypter

Caenodelphax teapae female macropter

Caenodelphax teapae female brachypter

Molecular resources

Sequence data for Caenodelphax teapae is available on Genbank for 18S, 18S, CO1 and WG. There appears to be no barcoding data in BOLD.

Selected References

Beamer, R. H. 1947. Some new species of Delphacodes (continued) with two old ones (Homoptera: Fulgoridae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 20(2): 58-71.

Fennah, R. G. 1959. Delphacidae from the Lesser Antilles (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Entomology 8: 245-265.

Fennah, R. G. 1965. New Species of Fulgoroidea (Homoptera) from the West Indies. Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society, London 117(4): 95-126.

Fowler, W. W. 1904. Order Rhyncota. Suborder Hemiptera-Homoptera. (Continued). Biologia Centrali-Americana; or, Contributions to the knowledge of the fauna and flora of Mexico and Central America 1:77-124. (here)

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.

Wilson, S. W. 2005. Keys to the families of Fulgoromorpha with emphasis on planthoppers of potential economic importance in the southeastern United States (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha). Florida Entomologist 88(4):464-481.