Family Cixiidae

Subfamily Cixiinae

Tribe Pintaliini Metcalf, 1938

Genus Monorachis Uhler 1901

Type species (in original combination): Monorachis sordulentus Uhler, 1901.

Synonyms: None.

Distribution: Southeastern and southcentral US and Mexico.

Recognized species

There are 3 species in this genus:

Monorachis saltans Emeljanov 2001:67 - Mexico (Tamaulipas)
Monorachis sordulentus Uhler, 1901 - USA: FL, GA, IL, KS, LA, MS, MO, NC, SC, TN; Mexico (Veracruz)
Monorachis volans Emeljanov 2001:67 - Mexico (Veracruz)

Economic Importance:

Limited, members of this genus are infrequently encountered..

Known host plants: 

None published; collecting record from Andropogon sp. (Poaceae).

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

Recognition:

Monorachis sordulentus (Photos by Kimberley Shropshire, University of Delaware)

The only brachypterous cixiid in the US.   Hind tibiae with spines, posterior margin of vertex quadrately or roundly incised; mesonotum with three longitudinal carinae, forewings at rest vertical in position with distal portions (when macropterous) broadly appressed; mesonotum convex in lateral view (vs. Pintalia); apical cells of forewing comparatively broad; frons with midlength and greatest width subequal.  Macropters are less common than brachypters.

Collecting

I collected a series in Tennessee sweeping a wet, grassy depression at the edge of a woodlands.

Molecular resources: As of this writing, there are no molecular data for this genus on Barcode of Life or Genbank (but genbank has some sequence data for Nymphomyndus caribbea listed under Nymphocixia.

Selected references:

Emeljanov, A. F. 2001. Two new species of the genus Monorachis Uhler from Mexico and some new replacement names in Cixiidae (Homoptera: Cixiidae). Zoosystematica Rossica 10(1): 67-70.

Kramer, J. P. 1983. Taxonomic study of the planthopper family Cixiidae in the United States (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea). Transactions of the American Entomological Society 109: 1-57.

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