Family Delphacidae

Subfamily Asiracinae 

Tribe Platysystatini

Genus Pentasteira

Distribution: Bolivia, Ecuador, French Guiana.

Type species (in original combination): Pentasteira albifrons Barringer & Bartlett, 2011.

Recognized species

There is a single species in this genus.

Pentasteira albifrons Barringer & Bartlett, 2011 - Ecuador

Note: undescribed members of this genus (females) were reported from Bolivia and French Guiana

Reported Hosts: None (all reported specimens from Canopy fogging). 

Economic Importance: Limited. 

Recognition

This genus erected by Barringer and Bartlett (2011).

Features of this genus are the very wide and short vertex, separated from the frons with a carina, and the 5 carinate mesonotum (with intermediate carinae serpentine) are features of the tribe.

Pentasteiracan be separated from other Platysystatini by this key, extracted from Barringer & Bartlett (2011)

1 . Antennae terete in cross-section; frons in frontal view convex between eye and laterally projecting beneath eyes to cover (or nearly cover) the base of scape; Brazil ...  Platysystatus
1 ’. Antennae flattened in cross-section; frons in frontal view not (or weakly) convex and weakly projecting laterally beneath eyes, not covering base of scape ... 2

2. Intermediate carinae of mesonotum serpentine, frons laterally rounded, aedeagus with stout flagellum; body color light brown mottled with pale, lacking broad white stripe on frons ...  Equasystatus
2 ’. Intermediate carinae of mesonotum uniformly arched, frons peltate, aedeagus with fine flagellum; body deep brown with broad white stripe along frontoclypeal suture ... Pentasteira

Pentasteira albifrons from Barringer & Bartlett, 2011

Molecular resources:

At this time, neither Genbank or Bold have any molecular resources for this genus.

Selected references

Asche, M. 1983a. Zur Kenntnis der Gattung Platysystatus Muir, 1930 (Homoptera Auchenorrhyncha Fulgoromorpha Delphacidae). Marburger Entomologische Publikationen 1(8): 107-126.

Asche, M. 1983b. Aufgliederung der Asiracinen-Gattung Punana Muir, 1913: Equasystatus gen. nov. aus Equador und Neopunana gen. nov. von den Karibischen Inseln (Homoptera Auchenorrhyncha Fulgoromorpha Delphacidae). Marburger Entomologische Publikationen 1(8): 127-166.

Barringer, L. E. and C. R. Bartlett. 2011. A review of New World Asiracinae (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Delphacidae) with five new taxa. Cicadina 12: 7-39.

Emeljanov, A. F. 1996. On the question of the classification and phylogeny of the Delphacidae (Homoptera, Cicadina), with reference to larval characters. Entomological Review 75(9): 134-150. [the PDF is really bad, but it is all I have].

Muir, F.A.G. 1926b. Contributions to our knowledge of South American Fulgoroidea (Homoptera). Part I. The Family Delphacidae. Experiment Station of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association, Entomological Series, Bulletin 18: 1-51, plates 1-5.