Family Achilidae

Subfamily Achilinae

Tribe Plectoderini Fennah, 1950

Genus Momar Fennah, 1950

Type species: Plectoderes lineatocollis Fowler, 1904.

Synonyms: None

Distribution: Southwestern US and Central America.

Recognized species

There are 3 species currently in the genus

Momar fumidus (Ball, 1933) - USA: AZ, CA; Mexico (Sonora, Chihuahua)
Momar lineatocollis (Fowler, 1904) - Mexico, Panama
Momar maculifrons (Van Duzee, 1912) - USA: AZ, NM, TX, UT; Mexico (Chihuahua)

Economic Importance: Limited.

Known host plants: 

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

Momar fumidus - Platanus wrightii S. Watson (Arizona sycamore, Platanaceae),

Momar maculifrons - Platanus wrightii S. Watson, Quercus sp. (Oak, Fagaceae), Vitis sp. (grape, Vitaceae)

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

Recognition:

Frons pattern distinctive among genera north of Mexico: frons with three pairs of dark spots, sometimes fused, on basal half; southwestern (esp. vs. Synecdoche); Subcostal cell of forewing longer than 1/3 length of wing, narrow throughout (vs. Catonia) Rostrum longer than clypeus, reaching base of hind coxae (vs. Xerbus)

Momar maculifrons (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:

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.

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