Family Delphacidae

Subfamily Delphacinae

Tribe Delphacini

 

Distribution: Mostly North America with a few species in the Caribbean and Neotropics.

Type species: Pissonotus marginatus Van Duzee, 1897.

Generic synonym: Phyllodictus Ball, 1926: 18-19 (Type species Phyllodictus tessellatus Ball, 1926); syn. by Morgan and Beamer, 1949: 97; Bartlett and Deitz, 2000: 13.

Recognized species

43 currently recognized species plus 4 species of uncertain status as follows

Regognized species

1 Pissonotus abdominalis (Crawford, 1914) - Belize, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mexico (Sinaloa, Nayarit, Morelos, Oaxaca, Chiapas); Nicaragua.
2 Pissonotus agrestis Morgan and Beamer, 1949 - USA: Florida, Georgia (Connecticut reported, but probably mislabelled specimen).
3 Pissonotus albivultus Morgan and Beamer, 1949 - USA: Florida, Louisiana, ? Texas; Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico (San Luis Potosí, Vera Cruz, Hidalgo, Oaxaca, ?Chiapas); Nicaragua, ?Venezuela.
4 Pissonotus albovenosus Osborn, 1935 - Throughout eastern USA, especially south; Bahamas (Cat); Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico, Puerto Rico.
5 Pissonotus aphidioides Van Duzee, 1897 - USA: Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania; Canada: Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, ?Prince Edward Island, Quebec
6 Pissonotus aquilonius Morgan and Beamer, 1949 - USA: Wisconsin.
7 Pissonotus basalis Van Duzee, 1897 - Connecticut, ?Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Wisconsin; Canada: ?Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec. .
8 Pissonotus binotatus Spooner, 1912 - USA: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia; Bermuda
9 Pissonotus boliviensis Bartlett, 2000 - Bolivia (Santa Cruz, La Paz, Cochabamba:; Brazil (Mato Grosso, Rio de Janeiro, Rondonia); Uruguay, Argentina (Tucuman, Chaco, Corrientes).
10 Pissonotus brevistilus Bartlett, 2000 - Mexico (Nayarit).
11 Pissonotus brunneus Van Duzee, 1897 - USA: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, West Virginia; Canada: Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, Alberta; Mexico ( San Lois Potosí, Vera Cruz, Hidalgo, Michoacán, Puebla, Chiapas).  "Jamaica" record in error; specimen label referred to Jamaica on Long Island in New York.
12 Pissonotus canadensis Bartlett, 2000 - CAN: Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario.
13 Pissonotus concolor Bartlett, 2000 - USA: Connecticut?, Massachusetts?, North Carolina, New York.
14 Pissonotus decussatus Bartlett, 2000. - Mexico (Chiapas); Guatemala.
15 Pissonotus delicatus Van Duzee, 1897 - Widespread in western United states with occasional eastern records; also Canada: Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Quebec; Mexico (Baja California Norte, Coahuila, Tamaulipas), ?Jamaica.

16 Pissonotus dentatus Morgan and Beamer, 1949 - USA: Florida, Illinois, North Carolina; Cuba (Illinois and North Carolina records may be mislabelled specimens).
17 Pissonotus divergens Bartlett, 2000 - USA: ?Arizona, ?Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, ?Texas.
18 Pissonotus dorsalis Van Duzee, 1897 -USA: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin; Canada: Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, New Brunswick.

19 Pissonotus festucae Bartlett, 2000 - USA: ?Arizona; Mexico (Federal District, Jalisco); ?Puerto Rico.
20 Pissonotus flabellatus (Ball, 1903) - Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia; Canada: Ontario

21 Pissonotus frontalis (Crawford, 1914) - USA: Oregon, California; Canada: British Columbia, '-
22 Pissonotus guttatus Spooner, 1912 - USA :Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin; Canada: Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia,
23 Pissonotus jamaicensis Bartlett, 2000 - Jamaica.
24 Pissonotus lactofascius Morgan and Beamer, 1949 - USA: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming.
25 Pissonotus marginatus Van Duzee, 1897 - USA: Arkansas, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin, West Virginia; Canada: Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec

26 Pissonotus melanurus Van Duzee, 1917 - USA: California.
27 Pissonotus merides Morgan and Beamer, 1949 - USA: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina.
28 Pissonotus minutus Beamer, 1952 - USA: Arizona.
29 Pissonotus muiri Metcalf, 1943 - Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama.
30 Pissonotus neotropicus (Muir, 1926) -  Argentina (Misiones), Bolivia, Brazil (Mato Grosso, Parana), Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela 
31 Pissonotus niger Morgan and Beamer, 1949 - USA: Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, New York, South Dakota, Virginia, ?Montana; Canada: Manitoba,
32 Pissonotus nigriculus Morgan and Beamer, 1949 - USA: Florida, Texas.
33 Pissonotus nitens (Van Duzee, 1909) - USA: Alabama, Florida, Mississippi; Jamaica
34 Pissonotus paludosus Morgan and Beamer, 1949 - USA: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina
35 Pissonotus paraguayensis Bartlett, 2000 - ?Bolivia, Brazil (Minas Gerais); Paraguay.
36 Pissonotus piceus (Van Duzee, 1894) - Widespread in eastern and central US; including Canada: Ontario; Belize, Bermuda, Costa Rica, Cuba, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico (Sinaloa, Vera Cruz, San Luis Potosí, Jalisco), Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Trinidad, Venezuela (Guarico).

     = Pissonotus fulvus Metcalf, 1923: 206; syn. by Morgan & Beamer 1949: 137.

37 Pissonotus quadripustulatus (Van Duzee, 1909) - USA: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas; Mexico (Tamaulipas).
38 Pissonotus radiolus Bartlett, 2000 - Canada: Ontario
39 Pissonotus rubrilatus Morgan and Beamer, 1949 - USA: Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming; Canada: British Columbia,
40 Pissonotus spatulatus Bartlett, 2000 - USA: California; Mexico: Durango, Jalisco
41 Pissonotus spooneri Morgan and Beamer, 1949 - USA: Connecticut, Florida, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania
42 Pissonotus tessellatus (Ball, 1926) - USA: Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio.

43 Pissonotus tumidus Morgan and Beamer, 1949 - USA: Connecticut, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia; Canada: Manitoba.

Species of uncertain status (these species are not Pissonotus, but have not yet been placed in another genus)

Pissonotus absenta Caldwell, 1951 - Puerto Rico

Pissonotus haywardi Muir, 1929 - Argentina, Brazil

Pissonotus nigridorsum Metcalf, 1923: 206 - USA: Pennsylvania

Pissonotus substitua (Walker,1851) - Galapagos

I am aware of several undescribed species in this genus.

Economic Importance: Limited. Reported from a variety of crops (i.e., Pissonotus piceus on celery, Pissonotus dorsalis on beet and carrot; Pissonotus albivultus on kidneybean), but these reports need confirmation and are are probably incidental.

 

Recorded hosts:

Most species with confirmed hosts are recorded from plants in the Asteraceae with the exception of Pissonotus piceus on Polygonaceae. 

Pissonotus abdominalis - Eupatorium adenophorum (Asteraceae).
Pissonotus albivultus - Eriobotrya japonica (Thunb.) Lindl. (loquat, Rosaceae) and Phaseolus vulgaris L. (kidneybean; Fabaceae).
Pissonotus albovenosus - Iva frutescens L. (Jesuit's bark); Lygodesmia grandiflora (Nutt.) Torr. & A. Gray (largeflower skeletonplant); Borrichia frutescens (L.) DC. (bushy seaside tansy) (Asteraceae)
Pissonotus aphidioides - Castilleja coccinea (L.) Spreng. (scarlet Indian paintbrush, Scrophalariaceae)
Pissonotus basalis - Grindelia squarrosa (Pursh) Dunal (curlycup gumweed; Asteraceae)
Pissonotus binotatus - Conyza canadensis (L.) Cronquist var. pusilla (Nutt.) Cronquist (Canadian horseweed), Eupatorium L. (thoroughwort) (Asteraceae )
Pissonotus boliviensis - Pontederia sp. (pickerelweed; Pontederiaceae)
Pissonotus brunneus - Erigeron quercifolius Lam. (oakleaf fleabane), Erigeron sp., Symphyotrichum puniceum (L.) A. Löve & D. Löve var. puniceum (Purplestem aster; as Aster puniceus L.; Asteraceae); Lespedeza sp. (Fabaceae), Agrostis sp. (Poaceae ).
Pissonotus delicatus - Grindelia squarrosa (Pursh) Dunal (Curlycup gumweed); Grindelia papposa G.L. Nesom & Suh (as Haplopappus ciliatus (Nutt.) DC.) (Spanish gold), Heterotheca subaxillaris (Lam.) Britton & Rusby (camphorweed: Asteraceae), Sphaeralcea angustifolia (Cav.) G. Don (as Sphaeralcea emoryi Torr. ex A. Gray) (copper globemallow; Malvaceae).
Pissonotus dorsalis - Beta vulgaris L. (common beet; Chenopodiaceae ), Salix sp. (willow; Salicaceae), Agrostis sp. (bentgrass, Poaceae), Solidago sp. (goldenrod, Asteraceae), Daucus carota L. (Queen Anne's Lace, Apiaceae).
Pissonotus festucae - Festuca amplissima Rupr. (Poaceae)
Pissonotus flabellatus - Schrankia (Fabaceae)
Pissonotus frontalis - Artemisia furcata M. Bieb. var. heterophylla (Besser) Hultén (forked wormwood), Artemisia sp. (Asteraceae)
Pissonotus marginatus - Carex sp. (Cyperaceae), Solidago sp. (goldenrod; Asteraceae)
Pissonotus melanurus - Grindelia camporum Greene (great valley gumweed; Asteraceae).
Pissonotus muiri - Zexmenia pinetorum Standl. & Steyerm. (Asteraceae)
Pissonotus nitens - Helianthus sp. (Asteraceae).
Pissonotus paludosus - "On Cane"; (Arundinaria sp.?, Poaceae)
Pissonotus piceus (Van Duzee) - Polygonum hydropiperoides Michx. (Swamp smartweed), Polygonum sp., (Polygonaceae); Ludwigia peploides (Kunth) P.H. Raven (floating primrose-willow), Ludwigia grandiflora (Michx.) Greuter & Burdet (large-flower primrose-willow; as Ludwigia uruguayensis (Camb.) H. Hara; Onagraceae); Liquidambar styraciflua L. (sweetgum; Hamamelidaceae).
Pissonotus quadripustulatus - Borrichia frutescens (L.) DC. (bushy seaside tansy; Asteraceae)

(source: Bartlett and Deitz 2000)

Recognition

This genus most recently revised by Bartlett and Deitz (2000) and previously by Morgan and Beamer (1949).  As the genus name suggests (Pissa- = pitch [colored], notum = back)], members of this genus tend to be chestnut colored, although they very from orange to nearly black (sometimes within a species, esp. Pissonotus delicatus, Pissonotus binotatus).  Pissonotus piceus is often encountered at lights.  The most commonly encountered species are Pissonotus piceus, P. delicatus, P. binotatus, P. albovenosus and P. brunneus.  Other species may be locally common, but a few species are rarely encountered.

The color pattern is helpful to recognize members of this genus.  Most species are chestnut brown, with brachyptery more common than macroptery.  Many species have a white band at the end of the tegmina (which leave several abdominal segments exposed), and also a white mand on the trailing margin of the pronotum.  The clypeus is often dark brown, contrasting with a pale band along the frontoclypeal suture (except P. nitens).  A few species (the former genus Phyllodictus) have slightly to considerably expanded front tibiae (P. aphidioides, P. basalis, P. flabellatus, P. neotropicus, P. nitens, P. spooneri, and P. tumidus).  Pissonotus quadripustulatus is unusual in being pale-bodied (straw-colored) and having flattened first antennal segments.  The carinae of the frons are usually inconspicuous (with the conspicuous exception of P. albivultus).  The median carinae of the frons is forked on the frons, although the arms are closely approximated. 

All species in the genus can be recognized by the presence of a pair of symmetrical processes on the ventral margin of the opening of the male pygofer.  The presence of median processes on the opening of the pygofer is shared (among genera represented in North America) with Scolopygos (processes asymmetrical, uniform colored), Parkana (processes asymmetrical, overall features very different), and Perkinsiella (larger. antennae flattened).

 

Pissonotus albovenosus

 

Pissonotus basalis

 

Pissonotus binotatus (specimens may also be dark; not dark marking on anterior of antennae - this is also found on delicatus)

Pissonotus brunneus

Pissonotus canadensis

Pissonotus delicatus (very similar to binotatus; generally, binotatus is eastern and delicatus western, but delicatus can occur in the east, especially along the gulf coast; best separated from binotatus based on genitalia - most easily by the median processes of delicatus being short)

Pissonotus flabellatus

Pissonotus marginatus (male)

Pissonotus marginatus (female)

Pissonotus piceus (Van Duzee) (This species varies considerably in shade from pitch-colored to orangish. Markings on the apex of the wing and posterior margin of the pronotum may be present or absent, but are generally narrow.  The frons is usually dark dorsally and pale ventrally, but the colors intergrade, and sometimes the frons is entirely pale. The vertex is narrow compared with other Pissonotus and projects slightly forwark.  Also the calcar is relatively large [reminiscent f Megamelus], probably to assist with jumping off the surface of the water.)

Pissonotus quadripustulatus

Websites: Pissonotus is here on Discover Life and here on Bugguide.  There are

http://www.pbase.com/tmurray74/planthoppers_family_delphacidae

 

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 Pissonotus albovenosus, P. brunneus, P. flabellatus, and P. piceus in their analyses. 

 

Selected References

Bartlett, C. R. and L. L. Deitz. 2000. Revision of the New World delphacid planthopper genus Pissonotus (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea). Thomas Say Publications in Entomology: Monographs.

Beamer, R. H. 1952. One old and five new species of delphacine fulgorids (Homoptera: Fulgoridae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 25(3): 111-115.

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. 1967. Fulgoridae of the Galápagos Archipelago. Proceedings of the California Academy of Science, fourth series 35(4): 53-102

Morgan, L. W. and R. H. Beamer. 1949. A revision of three genera of delphacine fulgorids from America north of Mexico. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 22(3-4): 97-142.

Wilson, S. W. and J. H. Tsai. 1991. Descriptions of nymphs of the Delphacid planthopper Pissonotus delicatus (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea). Journal of the New York Entomological Society 99(2): 242-247.

Van Duzee, E. P. 1897a. A Preliminary Review of the North American Delphacidae. Bulletin of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences 5(5): 225-261.