Family Achilidae

Subfamily Achilinae

Tribe Plectoderini Fennah, 1950

Genus Juniperthia O’Brien, 1985

Type species: Catonia succinea Van Duzee, 1916.

Synonyms:

  = Juniperia O’Brien, 1971 (preoccupied; nec. Linnavuori 1965); syn. by O’Brien 1985 (All species moved from Juniperia by implication).

Distribution: Southwestern US

Recognized species

There are 5 species in this genus:

Juniperthia indella (Ball, 1933) - USA: CA, NV
    = Catonia indella Ball, 1933: 136.
    = Juniperia indella (Ball, 1933); comb. by O’Brien 1971: 61-62.
    = Juniperthia indella (Ball, 1933); comb. by implication O’Brien 1985: 657.
Juniperthia majuscula (Van Duzee, 1912) - USA: AZ, CA
    = Catonia majuscula Van Duzee, 1912: 492.
    = Juniperia majuscula (Van Duzee, 1912); comb. by O’Brien 1971.
    = Juniperthia majuscula (Van Duzee, 1912); comb. by implication O’Brien 1985: 657.
Juniperthia producta (Van Duzee, 1915) - USA: CA
    = Catonia producta Van Duzee, 1915.
    = Juniperia producta (Van Duzee, 1915); comb. by O’Brien 1971: 58-59.
    = Juniperthia producta (Van Duzee, 1915); comb. by implication O’Brien 1985: 657.
Juniperthia succinea (Van Duzee, 1916) - USA: CA, NE
    = Catonia succinea Van Duzee, 1916: 247.
    = Juniperia succinea (Van Duzee, 1916); comb. by O’Brien 1971: 59-60.
    = Juniperthia succinea (Van Duzee, 1916); comb. by implication O’Brien 1985: 657.
Juniperthia unimaculata (O'Brien, 1971) - 657. USA: CA
    = Juniperia unimaculata O'Brien, 1971.
    = Juniperthia unimaculata (O'Brien, 1971); comb. by implication O’Brien 1985:

Economic Importance: Limited.

Known host plants: 

Associated with Juniper

Nymphs of achilids associated with fungus (usually in logs).  The significance of adult host association is unclear.

Juniperthia indella - Juniperus occidentalis Hook. (Western Juniper, Cupressaceae), Juniperus californica Carrière (California juniper), Calocedrus decurrens (Torr.) Florin (incense cedar, Cupressaceae), Arctostaphylos tomentosa (Pursh) Lindl. (woollyleaf manzanita, Ericaceae), Baccharis sp. (Asteraceae), Salix sp. (Salicaceae )

Juniperthia majuscula - Juniperus deppeana Steud. (alligator juniper)

Juniperthia producta - Juniperus californica Carrière, Calocedrus decurrens (Torr.) Florin (incense cedar)

Juniperthia succinea - uniperus californica Carrière, Calocedrus decurrens (Torr.) Florin (incense cedar)

Juniperthia unimaculata - uniperus californica Carrière

Hosts from O'Brien 1971, Wilson et al. 1994; plant names from USDA PLANTS.

Recognition:

Similar to Catonia and Synecdoche but lacking the lateral spine on the hind tibiae.

Juniperthia indella (Ball, 1933)

Photos by Kimberley Shropshire (University of Delaware)

Collecting

Most often taken at lights.

Molecular resources: No data for this genus appears on GenBank or Barcode of Life. 

Selected references:

Ball, E. D. 1933. Some new Western leafhoppers of the fulgorid family Achilidae. Pan-Pacific Entomologist 9: 133-138.

Emeljanov, A. F. 1992. Toward the problem and limits and subdivisions of Achilidae (Homoptera, Cicadina). Entomological Review 71(1): 53-73 (Translation of Entomologicheskoye Obozreniye 1991, 70: 373-393, in Russian).

Emeljanov, A. F. 1993. Description of tribes of the subfamily Achilinae (Homoptera, Achilidae) and revision of their composition. Entomological Review 72(6): 7-27 (Translation of Entomologicheskoe Obozrenie 71: 574-594 from Russian).

Fennah, R. G. 1950. A generic revision of the Achilidae (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea) with descriptions of new species. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology 1: 1-170.

Metcalf, Z. P. 1948. General catalogue of the Hemiptera. Fasc. IV. Fulgoroidea, Part 10. Achilidae. Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts. 85 pp.

O’Brien, L. B. 1971. The systematics of the tribe Plectoderini in America north of Mexico (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea: Achilidae). University Of California Publications in Entomology 64: 1-79.

O'Brien, L. B. 1985. New synonymies and combinations in New World Fulgoroidea (Achilidae, Delphacidae, Flatidae, Fulgoridae: Homoptera). Annals of the Entomological Society of America 78(5): 657-662.

Van Duzee, E. P. 1912. Hemipterological gleanings. Bulletin of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences. 10: 477-512.

Van Duzee, E. P. 1915. New genera and species of North American Hemiptera. Journal of Entomology and Zoology 7: 109-121.

Van Duzee, E. P. 1916. Notes on some Hemiptera taken near Lake Tahoe, California. Technical Bulletin. University of California, College of Agriculture, Agricultural Experiment Station. Entomology 1: 229-249.

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