Family Delphacidae

Subfamily Delphacinae

Tribe Delphacini

Distribution: Widespread in the Neotropics.

Type species: Kelisia contorta Muir, 1926

Recognized species

10 currently recognized species as follows:

Phrictopyga contorta (Muir, 1926) - Jamaica, Brazil, Puerto Rico
Phrictopyga curvistilus (Muir, 1926) - Brazil
Phrictopyga escadensis (Muir, 1926) - Brazil
Phrictopyga fuscovittata (Muir, 1926) - Brazil
Phrictopyga graminicola (Muir, 1926) - Brazil
Phrictopyga holmgreni (Muir, 1930) - Bolivia, Argentina
Phrictopyga nugax Fennah, 1959 - Trinidad (St. Augustine)
Phrictopyga occidentalis (Muir, 1926) - USA: Texas; Ecuador, Mexico, Puerto Rico
Phrictopyga semele Fennah, 1959 - Trinidad (St. Augustine)
Phrictopyga urbana (Muir, 1926) - Brazil

There are also a number of undescribed species.

Economic Importance: Limited. Members of this genus are commonly observed at lights.

Recorded hosts: Apparently none.

Recognition

Members of this genus are pale, very slightly flattened and usually with a pale stripe on the thorax.  The wings often have some coloring apically at the tips of the peripheral veins. They resemble Pygosopina in many respects, but the genitalia are have a pair of closely approximated processes midventrally on the pygofer opening. 

Phrictopyga contorta

Phrictopyga occidentalis

Molecular resources

At this time, Genbank and Bold do not have any molecular data for this genus.  Urban et al. (2010) sequenced 4 genetic loci (18S rDNA, 28S rDNA, wingless, and cytochrome oxidase I) for a Phrictopyga sp. in their analyses. 

Selected References

Caldwell, J.S. and L.F. Martorell. 1951 [dated1950]. Review of the Auchenorynchous [sic] Homoptera of Puerto Rico. Part II. The Fulgoroidea except Kinnaridae. Journal of Agriculture of the University of Puerto Rico 34(2): 133-269.

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

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.

de Remes-Lenivov, A.M.M., M. Olmi and E.G. Virla. 2009. Phrictopyga holmgreni (Muir): New Record for Argentina and Description of a New Parasitoid, Gonatopus concinnus (Herniptera: Delphacidae and Hymenoptera: Dryinidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 82(2): 174-182.

Wilson, S.W. 1981. The first record of Phrictopyga occidentalis in the United States (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea: Delphacidae). Great Lakes Entomologist 14(3): 131.