Family Delphacidae

Subfamily Delphacinae

Tribe Delphacini

Distribution: Widespread in the Palearctic region, Asia, and Africaa.  One species misplaced in this genus from Jamaica, and one species probably misplaced from Australia.

Type species (in original combination):  Delphax unicolor Herrich-Schaffer, 1835).

Recognized species

There are 25 recognized species in this genus:

New World

1 Chloriona nigrifrons Van Duzee, 1907 - Jamaica

Old World (distribution records incomplete)

1 Chloriona adunca Ding, 1981 - China
2 Chloriona alaica Dubovsky, 1970 - Russia (Kirghizia)
3 Chloriona arakawai Matsumura, 1935 - Japan (Shikoku)
4 Chloriona chinai Ossiannilsson, 1946 - Finland, Sweden, Russia, Estonia
5 Chloriona clavata Dlabola, 1960 - Russia, Kazakhstan, Moldavia, Dagestan, Uzbekistan
6 Chloriona dorsata Edwards, 1898 - Denmark, England, France, Great Britain, Poland, Sweden
7 Chloriona glaucescens Fieber, 1866 - Europe, Mellum Island, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan
8 Chloriona gvosdevi Mityaev, 1980 - Kazakhstan
9 Chloriona indigena Dubovsky, 1966 - Russia (Kirghizia)
10 Chloriona japonica Matsumura, 1935 - Japan (Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu)
11 Chloriona jegoroviensis Vilbaste, 1980 - Russia
12 Chloriona ponticana Asche, 1982 - Crete
13 Chloriona sachalinensis Matsumura, 1935 - Russia (Sakhalin)
14 Chloriona shikokuana Matsumura, 1935 - Japan (Honshu, Shikoku)
15 Chloriona sicula Matsumura, 1910 - Italy (Sicily)
16 Chloriona smaragdula (Stal, 1853) - Widespread in Europe, Russia, Middle East
17 Chloriona stenoptera (Flor, 1861) Estonia, Poland, Russia, Latvia, Kazakhstan
18 Chloriona strymon Fennah, 1958 - South Africa
19 Chloriona tateyamana Matsumura, 1935 - Japan (Honshu), Russia (Kazakhstan, Maritime Territory), Taiwan, China, Mongolia
20 Chloriona thyestes (Kirkaldy, 1907) - Australia (Queensland)
21 Chloriona tosaensis Matsumura, 1935 - Japan (Shikoku)
22 Chloriona turneri Muir, 1929 - South Africa
23 Chloriona unicolor (Herrich-Schaffer, 1835) - Widespread in Europe, Russia, Middle East
24 Chloriona vasconica Ribaut, 1934 - Widespread in Europe

Hosts:

This genus feeds mostly on Phragmites (Common Reed) and Arundo (Giant Cane).  Reported from Phragmites are Chloriona chinai, C. clavata, C. dorsata, C. glaucescens, C. ponticana, C. sicula, C. smaragdula, C. stenoptera, C. tateyamana, C. unicolor, and C. vasconica.  Reported from Arundo are Chloriona clavata, C. glaucescens, C. ponticana, C. sicula, C. unicolor, and C. vasconica.  Also reported C. tateyamana from Typha laxmanni.

Economic Importance: Both giant cane and common reed are important invasive plants in the New World.

Recognition

Chloriona alaica

Chloriona smaragdula

Male

Female

Chloriona unicolor

Male

female

Chloriona nigrifrons (From Jamaica - this species does nor belong in this genus.  I suspect I know where it belongs and I will put it there after I have some confirmation of my ideas.)

Holotype - Images courtesy Norm Penny, California Academy of Sciences

Molecular resources

On Genbank there is some sequence data for Chloriona dorsata, C. glaucescens, C. smaragdula, C. unicolor and C. vasconica here. BOLD has barcode data for Chloriona unicolor (here).

Selected references

Asche, M. 1982. Intraspezifische Variabilität der männlichen Genitalarmatur, dargestellt am Beispiel der Chloriona-Arten Ch. flaveola Lindberg, 1948, Ch. unicolor Herrich-Schäffer, 1835 und Ch. ponticana nov. spec. (Homoptera Cicadina Delphacidae). Marburger Entomologische Publikationen 1(6): 159-190.

Gillham, M., J. Rozeboom, C. Rijk, and P. deVrijer. 1992. Reproductive isolation in Chloriona planthoppers (Homoptera, Delphacidae). Proceedings of the Section Experimental and Applied Entomology of the Netherlands Entomological Society (N.E.V.) 3: 121-122.

Gillham, M.C. and P.W.F. deVrijer. 1995. Patterns of variation in the acoustic calling signals of Chloriona planthoppers (Homoptera: Delphacidae) coexisting on the common reed Phragmites australis. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 54: 245-269.

Lindberg, H. 1946. Die Biologie von Pipunculus chlorionae Frey und die Einwirkung von dressen Parasitismus auf Chloriona-Arten. Acta Zoologica Fennica., Helsingfors 45:1-50 + 14 figs.

Strübing, H. 1960. Eiablage und photoperiodisch bedingte Generationsfolge von Chloriona smaragdula STAL und Euidella speciosa BOH. Homoptera - Auchenorrhyncha). Zoologische Beitrage, Neue Folge 5: 301-332.

Van Duzee, E. P. 1907a. Notes on Jamaican Hemiptera: A report on a collection of Hemiptera made on the island of Jamaica in the spring of 1906. Bulletin of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences 8(5): 3-79.  [from Google books]