Family Delphacidae

Subfamily Delphacinae

Tribe Delphacini

 

Distribution: Holarctic

Type species: Delphax collina Boheman, 1847.

Subgenera

Emeljanov (1982) divided this genus into the subgenera Ribautodelphax and Altostana Emeljanov 1982.  Not all species were placed in subgenera.  The type species of Altostana is Ribautodelphax bogdul Dlabola, 1968, and evidently Altostana also includes R. imitans (Ribaut, 1953).

Recognized species

This genus is represented by 29 species (distribution may be incomplete for Old World taxa).

1 Ribautodelphax affinis Logvinenko, 1970 - Russia (Georgia), Ukraine
2 Ribautodelphax albostriata (Fieber, 1866) - USA: Alaska; widespread in Europe, Russia, North Africa, Mongolia

3 Ribautodelphax altaicus Vilbaste, 1965 - Russia (Altai Mts, Kazakhstan), China
4 Ribautodelphax angulosa (Ribaut, 1953) - Widespread Europe, Russia, Mongolia (Holzinger et al. 2003 notes that published records from eastern Europe, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, need to be reexamined).
5 Ribautodelphax bicolor Logvinenko, 1970 - Ukraine
6 Ribautodelphax bogdul Dlabola, 1968 - Mongolia
7 Ribautodelphax collina (Boheman, 1847) - Widespread Europe, Russia
8 Ribautodelphax exquisitus Anufriev, 1970 - Russia, China
9 Ribautodelphax falakron Asche, Drosopoulos & Hoch, 1986 - Greece
10 Ribautodelphax fanari Asche, Drosopoulos & Hoch, 1986 - Greece
11 Ribautodelphax flavicans Vilbaste, 1965 - Mongolia, Russia
12 Ribautodelphax fumatus (Lindberg, 1948) - Cyprus, Bulgaria
13 Ribautodelphax hyrcanus Dlabola, 1981 - Iran

14 Ribautodelphax imitans (Ribaut, 1953) - Austria, Hungary, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia

15 Ribautodelphax imitantoides Den Bieman, 1987 - Netherlands?

16 Ribautodelphax kalonerensis Den Bieman, 1987 - Netherlands?
17 Ribautodelphax kasachstanica Mityaev, 1975 - Russia (Kazakhstan)

18 Ribautodelphax libanonensis Den Bieman, 1987 - Netherlands?
19 Ribautodelphax nevadensis Den Bieman, 1987 - Netherlands?
20 Ribautodelphax noguerae Den Bieman, 1987 - Netherlands?
21 Ribautodelphax ochreata Vilbaste, 1965 - Mongolia, Russia (Altai Mtns, Kirghizia)
22 Ribautodelphax pallens (Stål, 1854) - Europe, Russia, North Africa
23 Ribautodelphax pumila Emeljanov, 1992 - Russia
24 Ribautodelphax pungens (Ribaut, 1953) - Widespread Europe
25 Ribautodelphax pusilla Emeljanov, 1972 - USA: Alaska; Mongolia
26 Ribautodelphax siculiformis Ding and Wang, 1996 - China (Gansu, Lanzhou)
27 Ribautodelphax tuvinus Anufriev, 1970 - East Siberia, China
28 Ribautodelphax ventouxianus den Bieman, 1987 - Netherlands?

29 Ribautodelphax vinealis Den Bieman, 1987

See also comment under Megadelphax concerning M. bidentatus (Anufriev, 1970). Ding (2006), for example, treated this species as Ribautodelphax.

Ding (2006) treats Ribautodelphax notabilis Logvinenko, 1970 as a valid species, but I have it as a synonym of Unkanodes tanasijevici (Dlabola, 1965) based on Nast (1987).

It is unclear to me whether Den Bieman, 1987 has been published in the meaning of the ICZN, but it is treated that way by Fauna Europaea and FLOW, and I have followed suit.   I do not have this resource at present.

The termination of names (the female '-a', or the male '-us') varies between sources and authors. ICZN (1961) (opinion 602) stated that "Delphax" was masculine, hence names ending with '-delphax' should be treated as masculine.  However, at this time, rather than modify endings, my intention is to use the published termination (with masculine preferred - primarily following Holzinger et al. 2003), but at present I may not have been completely consistent and I would be pleased to update with corrections. 

 

Economic importance: 

Probably limited.  Ribautodelphax notabilis, a vector of several crop diseases, is treated as a junior synonym of Unkanodes tanasijevici by Nast (1987).  In spite of subsequent treatment of this species as valid (e.g., Ding 2006), the synonymy is recognized here (as in Fauna Europaea).

Host plants:

All species, except R. noguerae, are on grasses.

Ribautodelphax albostriata - Poa pratensis L. (Kentucky bluegrass), Agrostis sp. (bentgrass), Dactylis sp. (orchardgrass), Bromus sp. (brome)

Ribautodelphax angulosa - Anthoxanthum odoratum L. (sweet vernalgrass)

Ribautodelphax bicolor - Festuca ovina L. (sheep fescue)

Ribautodelphax collina - Agrostis capillaris L. (colonial bentgrass)

Ribautodelphax falakron - Festuca cyllenica Boiss. & Heldr.

Ribautodelphax fanari - Thinopyrum intermedium (Host) Barkworth & D.R. Dewey (as Elymus hispidus (Opiz) Melderis, intermediate wheatgrass), Thinopyrum pycnanthum (Godr.) Barkworth (as Elymus pycnanthus (Godr.) Melderis), tick quackgrass)

Ribautodelphax imitans - Schedonorus phoenix (Scop.) Holub  (as Festuca arundinacea Schreb.)

Ribautodelphax imitantoides - Brachypodium phoenicoides (L.) Roem. & Schult. (thinleaf false brome)

Ribautodelphax kalonerensis - Arrhenatherum elatius (L.) P. Beauv. ex J. Presl & C. Presl (tall oatgrass)

Ribautodelphax noguerae - Carex nigra (L.) Reichard (smooth black sedge)

Ribautodelphax ochreata - Setaria sp. (bristlegrass)

Ribautodelphax pallans -Festuca ovina L. (sheep fescue)

Ribautodelphax pungens - Brachypodium pinnatum (L.) P. Beauv. (heath false brome), Brachypodium phoenicoides (L.) Roem. & Schult. (thinleaf false brome), Brachypodium sylvaticum (Huds.) P. Beauv. (slender false brome)

Ribautodelphax pusilla - Phalaris arundinacea L. (reed canarygrass)

Ribautodelphax siculiformis - Elymus tsukushiensis Honda var. transiens (Hack.) Osada (as Agropyron kamoji Ohwi)

Ribautodelphax ventouxianus - Festuca rubra L. (red fescue)

Ribautodelphax vinealis - Agrostis vinealis Schreb. (brown bendgrass)

Plant names primarily according to The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov) (GRIN when not in PLANTS, internet search when both fail).

Sources of host information Wilson et al. (1994), Holzinger et al. (2003), Nickel (2003), Ding (2006).

 

Recognition

Ribautodelphax is reasonably distinctive as a genus based on male genitalia. Members of the genus generally have have the processes on segment 10 converging, frequently crossing, and appressed to the segment, and the parameres have a distinctive shape. Identification of species within the genus can be challenging, and identification of females is generally not possible.  Parthenogenesis is known for the genus.

In North America, there are few Ribautodelphax species, and these are confined to northern latitudes and higher elevations. 

The bioacoustics of some European species have been investigated in detail.

 

Ribautodelphax albostriata

Ribautodelphax collina

Ribautodelphax pusilla - male

Ribautodelphax pusilla - female

Molecular resources:

Surprisingly, neither Genbank or BOLD provides molecular data for this genus at this time.

Selected References

Anufriev, G. A. 1970. New east-Asiatic Delphacids from the genera Megadelphax Wagner and Ribautodelphax Wagner (Homoptera, Delphacidae. Bulletin de l’Academie Polonaise des Sciences cl. II. 18(3): 141-146.

Asche, M., S. Drosopoulos, and H. Hoch. 1986. Two new Ribautodelphax Wagner - species from Greece (Homoptera Auchenorrhyncha Fulgoromorpha Delphacidae). Marburger Entomologische Publikationen 2(3): 193-210.

den Bieman C.F.M. 1987. Biological and taxonomic differentiation in the Ribautodelphax collinus complex (Homoptera, Delphacidae). Thesis.  Landbouwuniversiteit Wageningen, Wageningen (Netherlands). 163 pp.

den Bieman, C.F.M. 1987. Host plant relations in the planthopper genus Ribautodelphax (Homoptera, Delphacidae). Ecological Entomology 12(2): 163-172.

den Bieman, C.F.M. 1987. Acoustic differentiation and variation in planthoppers of the genus Ribautodelphax (Homoptera, Delphacidae). Netherlands Journal of Zoology 36(4): 461-480

den Bieman, C.F.M. 1987. Variability in female calling signals in mixed populations of pseudogamous forms and bisexual Ribautodelphax species (Homoptera: Delphacidae). Netherlands Journal of Zoology 37(1) 1987: 43-58.

den Bieman, C.F.M. 1988. Hybridization studies in the planthopper genus Ribautodelphax (Homoptera, Delphacidae). Genetica 76(1). 15-26.

den Bieman, C.F.M. 1988. Coexistence of pseudogamous and sexual planthoppers of the genus Ribautodelphax (Homoptera, Delphacidae). Ecological Entomology 13(4): 383-390.

den Bieman, C.F.M. 1988. Karyotypic variation in bisexual species and pseudogamous forms of the planthopper genus Ribautodelphax (Homoptera: Delphacidae). Genetica 76(2): 101-110.

den Bieman, C.F.M. and H. A. Eggers-Schumacher. 1988. Allozyme polymorphism in planthoppers of the genus Ribautodelphax (Homoptera, Delphacidae) and the origin of the pseudogamous triploid forms. Netherlands Journal of Zoology 37(3-4): 239-254.

Ding, J. H. 2006. Fauna Sinica Insecta Vol. 45 Homoptera Delphacidae. Science Press, Beijing, China.

Ding J.-h. and J. Wang, J. 1996. Delphacidae Fauna of Gansu Province, China (Homoptera, Fulgoroidea). Gansu Science and Technology Press. China book

Dlabola, J. 1981. Ergebnisse der Tschechoslowakisch-Iranischen Entomologischen Expeditionen nach dem Iran (1970 und 1973). (Mit Angaben uber einiger Sammelresultate in Anatolien) Homoptera: Auchenorrhyncha (2. Teil). Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 40: 127-311.

Emeljanov, A. F. 1982. Fulgoroidea (Homoptera) collected in the Mongolian People's Republic by the entomofaunistical group of the Soviet Mongolian complex biological expedition in 1970-1975. Nasekomye Mongolii [Insects of Mongolia] 8: 69-122 [In Russian].

Heller, F. R. 1973. Erstfund einer asiatishchen Zikade fur Mitteleuropa: Ribautodelphax ochreata Vilbaste aus der Schweiz. Entomologische Zeitschrift 83: 257-259.

Holzinger, W. E., I. Kammerlander, and H. Nickel. 2003. Fulgoromorpha, Cicadomorpha excluding Cicadellidae. Volume 1. The Auchenorrhyncha of Central Europe. Brill Academic Publishing, Leiden, Netherlands.

Mitjaev I. D. 1975. New species of Cicadinea (Homoptera) from Kazakhstan. Entomological Review 54(3): 67-72.

Nast, J., 1987. The Auchenorrhyncha (Homoptera) of Europe. Annales Zoologici 40(15): 535-661.

Nickel, H. 2003. The Leafhoppers and Planthoppers of Germany (Hemiptera, Auchenorrhyncha), Patterns and strategies in a highly diverse group of phytophagous insects , Pensoft Series Faunistica 28, Sofia, Bulgaria.

Quartau, J. A. and R. M. Martins. 1985. O genero Ribautodelphax Wagner 1963 (Homoptera, Delphacidae) em Portugal: introducao ao seu estudo. Actas do Congresso Iberico de Entomologia 2(2): 373-381.

Ribaut, H. 1953. Trois especes nouvelles du genre Callogypona (Homoptera-Araeopidae). Bulletin de la Societe d’Histoire Naturelle de Toulouse 88: 245-248. [described Ribautodelphax angulosa (Ribaut, 1953), Ribautodelphax imitans (Ribaut, 1953), Ribautodelphax pungens (Ribaut, 1953)]

Vilbaste, J. 1971. Eesti Tirdid Homoptera: Cicadinea I. Eesti NSV Teaduste Akadeemia Zooloogia ja Botaanika Institute, Kirjastus. [Cicadiidae of Estonia. Homoptera: Cicadinea, Tettigometridae, Cixiidae, Delphacidae, Achilidae, Issidae, Cicadidae, Aphrophoridae, Membracidae.] Valgus, Tallin, Estonia.

Wilson, S. W., C. Mitter, R. F. Denno, and M. R. Wilson. 1994. Evolutionary patterns of host plant use by delphacid planthoppers and their relatives. In: R. F. Denno and T. J. Perfect, (eds.). Planthoppers: Their Ecology and Management. Chapman and Hall, New York. Pp. 7-45 & Appendix [host references in appendix].

Winter, de A. J. 1994. Evolutionary aspects of acoustic communication in Ribautodelphax planthoppers (Homoptera, Delphacidae). Ph.D. Thesis. WURL. Landbouwuniversiteit, Wageningen, Netherlands. Doctoral Thesis

Winter, de A. J. 1992. The genetic basis and evolution of acoustic mate recognition signals in a Ribautodelphax planthopper (Homoptera, Delphacidae) 1. The female call. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 5(2): 249-265.

Winter, de A. J. 1992. Genetic studies of acoustic differentiation in Ribautodelphax planthoppers (Homoptera, Delphacidae). Proceedings of the Section Experimental and Applied Entomology of the Netherlands Entomological Society (N.E.V.) 3: 116-120.

Winter, de A. J. 1988. Preliminary data on the significance of acoustic behaviour in the genus Ribautodelphax (Homoptera, Delphacidae). In: C. Vidano and A. Arzone, (eds.). 6th Auchenorrhyncha Meeting, Turin, Italy, September 7-11, 1987. Proceedings. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Italy. Pp. 337-339

Winter, A. J. de. and T. Rollenhagen. 1990. The importance of male and female acoustic behaviour for reproductive isolation in Ribautodelphax planthoppers (Homoptera: Delphacidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 40(2): 191-206.

Winter, de A. J. and T. Rollenhagen. 1993. Differences in preference for species-specific female calls between acoustically experienced and acoustically naive male Ribautodelphax planthoppers (Homoptera: Delphacidae). Journal of Insect Behavior 6 (3): 411-419.