Family Delphacidae

Subfamily Asiracinae 

Tribe Idiosystanini

Distribution: North America and Temperate South America.

 

Type species (in original combination): Liburnia vittatifrons Uhler, 1876.

Generic synonyms

Bergia Scott, 1881 (Type species Liburnia nimbata Berg, 1879); Synonym by Asche, 1985: 283.
Bergias Kirkaldy, 1904 (Type species Liburnia nimbata Berg, 1879); New name for unavailable Bergia Scott, 1881; Synonym by Asche, 1985: 283.
Lepticus Crawford, 1914 (type species Lepticus oculatus Crawford, 1914, based on a nymph) ; Synonym by Dozier, 1926: 257; see also Muir 1926: 3.

 

Recognized species

There are seven recognized species currently placed in this genus.

 

Pentagramma bivittata Crawford, 1914 - USA: Ohio, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas; Nicaragua, Guyana; Netherlands
Antilles; Puerto Rico; Trinidad
Pentagramma cosquina Penner, 1947 - Argentina, Brazil?, Uruguay
Pentagramma douglasensis Penner, 1947 - Canada: Manitoba, Saskatchewan; USA: Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah
Pentagramma longistylata Penner, 1947 - USA: Florida, Oklahoma, Texas (also reported Montana).
Pentagramma nigrifrons Muir, 1934 - Argentina
Pentagramma nimbata (Berg, 1879) - Argentina
Pentagramma vittatifrons (Uhler, 1876) - Canada: Saskatchewan; USA: Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wyoming

 

Reported Hosts:

Species with known hosts are monphagous on bullrushes (Schoenoplectus spp., = Scirpus spp.; Cyperaceae).

Pentagramma douglasensis - Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani (C. C. Gmel.) Palla (= Scirpus validus Vahl).

Pentagramma longistylata - Schoenoplectus americanus (Pers.) Volkart ex Schinz & R. Keller (= Scirpus americanus Pers.).

Pentagramma vittatifrons - Schoenoplectus pungens (Vahl) Palla (= Scirpus pungens Vahl).

Hosts from Hedrick-Zeller and Wilson (2010).

 

Economic Importance: Limited. 

 

Recognition

This genus revised by Hedrick-Zeller and Wilson (2010); previously revised by Penner (1947).

There appears to be at least one undescribed species from Argentina.

 

Pentagramma bivittata

 

.Pentagramma cosquina

Images of holotype of Pentagramma cosquina here.

Pentagramma douglasensis

Pentagramma vittatifrons

 

Molecular resources:

Unfortunately, there is a fern genus by the same name.  Genbank does not have any molecular data for the delphacid.  Bold indicates an unspecified barcode sequence for a delphacid Pentagramma, but the text describing the genus indicates it is a fern. Urban et al. (2010) sequence 4 genetic loci (18S rDNA, 28S rDNA, wingless, and cytochrome oxidase I) for Pentagramma vittatifrons.

Selected references

Hedrick-Zeller, M. M., and S. W. Wilson. 2010. The planthopper genus Pentagramma in the United States: morphology of the male and female genitalia (Hemiptera: Delphacidae). Journal of The Kansas Entomological Society 83(3): 231-239.

Penner, L. R. 1947. Some notes on the genus Pentagramma and four new species. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 20(1): 30-39.

Wilson, S. W. and A. G. Wheeler, Jr. 1986. Pentagramma longistylata (Homoptera: Delphacidae): Descriptions of immature stages. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 94(1): 126-133.