Family Tropiduchidae

Subfamily Tambiniinae Kirkaldy, 1907

Gaetuliini Fennah, 1978 (sensu Gnezdilov 2007)

(Note: Historically part of Issidae [e.g., Fennah 1954]; subsequently transferred to Nogodinidae [Fennah 1984], then to Tropiduchidae [Gnezdilov 2007]).

Genus Danepteryx Uhler, 1889

Type species (in original combination): Danepteryx manca Uhler, 1889.

Synonyms: 

  = Epidanepteryx Bliven 1966: syn. by O’Brien 1988: 867..

Distribution: Southwestern US and extreme northern Mexico.

Recognized species

There are seven recognized species:

1 Danepteryx adiuncta Doering, 1939 - USA: CA
2 Danepteryx artemisiae Kirkaldy, 1908 - USA: CA
3 Danepteryx barbarae Kirkaldy, 1908 - USA: CA; Mexico (Baja California)
     = Epidanepteryx santana Bliven, 1966: 107; syn. by O’Brien 1988a: 868.
4 Danepteryx lurida Melichar, 1906 - USA: CA
5 Danepteryx manca Uhler, 1889 - USA: CA, UT
6 Danepteryx robusta Doering, 1939 - USA: CA
7 Danepteryx sequoiae (Bliven, 1966) - USA: CA
     = Epidanepteryx sequoia Bliven, 1966: 106; comb. by O’Brien 1988a: 868.

Economic Importance:

Limited.

Known host plants: 

Danepteryx artemisiae - Artemisia L. (sagebrush, Asteraceae)

Danepteryx manca - Artemisia L., Adenostoma Hook. & Arn. (chamise, Rosaceae)

Hosts from Wilson et al. (1994); plant names from USDA PLANTS or Tropicos.

Recognition:

Danepteryx is easily recognized among the Gaetuliini by the forewings, which are "strap-like" (much longer than wide), and generally exceeding the abdomen.  Danepteryx is most similar to Dyctidea, and can be distinguished by the vertex nearly as long as wide (vs. much wider than long).

Keys to the species of Danepteryx are given by Doering (1939).

Danepteryx lurida (All photos by Kimberley Shropshire, Department of Entomology, University of Delaware)

The key from Doering 1939 reads:

Illustrations from Doering 1939

Danepteryx is here on bugguide.  And here on Discover Life.

Collecting

Danepteryx is collected by inspecting likely host plants or sweeping.

Molecular resources: As of this writing, data for Danepteryx sp. is available on Genbank and on Barcode of life.

Selected references:

Bliven, B. P. 1966. New genera and species of Issidae. Occidental Entomologist 1: 103-107.

Doering, K. C. 1939. A contribution to the taxonomy of the subfamily Issinae in America north of Mexico (Fulgoridae, Homoptera). Part III. University of Kansas Science Bulletin 26: 83 167.

Fennah, R. G. 1954. The Higher classification of the family Issidae (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea) with descriptions of new species. Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London 105(19): 455-474.

Fennah, R. G. 1984. Revisionary notes on the classification of the Nogodinidae (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea), with descriptions of a new genus and a new species. Entomologist's Monthly Magazine 120: 81-86.

Gnezdilov, V. M. 2007. On the systematic positions of the Bladinini Kirkaldy, Tonginae Kirkaldy, and Trienopinae Fennah (Homoptera, Fulgoroidea). Zoosystematica Rossica 15: 293-297.

Kirkaldy, G. W. 1907. Leafhoppers supplement (Hemiptera). Bulletin of the Experiment Station of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association, Entomological Series 3:1-186, plus 20 plates.

Kirkaldy, G. W. 1908. A brief note on three (two new) California Fulgoroid Hemiptera. Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society 2: 22-23.

Melichar, L. 1906. Monographie der Issiden. (Homoptera). Abhandlungen der K. K. Zoologisch-botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien 3: 1-327.

Metcalf, Z. P. 1958. General catalogue of the Homoptera. Fasc. IV. Fulgoroidea, Part 15. Issidae. North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC. 561 pp.

O’Brien, L. B. 1988. Taxonomic changes in North American Issidae (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea). Annals of the Entomological Society of America 81: 865-869.

Uhler, P. R. 1889. New genera and species of American Homoptera. Transactions of the Maryland Academy of Sciences 1: 33-44.

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.