Luheriini Linnavuori, 1959

Zahniser, James N. & Dietrich, Chris H., 2013, A review of the tribes of Deltocephalinae (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadellidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 45, pp. 1-211 : 108-110

Luheriini Linnavuori, 1959

Fig. 33

Type genus: Luheria Osborn, 1923 .

Diagnosis

Luheriini are medium sized to large yellow, orange, and brown leafhoppers. They can be identified by the anterior margin of the head with numerous striations or carinae, forewing appendix absent or reduced, forewings not overlapping, central anteapical cell constricted medially, T-shaped connective, and ‘linear’ style.

Description

HEAD. Head wider than pronotum. Discal portion of crown glabrous with radial or longitudinal striae. Anterior margin of head with numerous transverse striations or carinae. Frontoclypeus not tumid; texture shagreen. Clypellus widening apically; apex following or slightly surpassing normal curve of gena. Lorum subequal to or wider than clypellus near base. Antennal bases near middle or posteroventral (lower) corners of eyes. Antennae moderately long, about as long as width of head. Gena obtusely incised laterally; with fine erect seta beside laterofrontal suture. Antennal ledges weakly developed (carinate or weakly carinate). Ocelli present; close to eyes; on anterior margin of head.

THORAX. Pronotum lateral margin carinate; lateral margin shorter than basal width of eye.

WINGS. Forewing macropterous; appendix absent or reduced; commissural margin straight; with 3 anteapical cells; central anteapical cell constricted medially; veins not raised; with or without reflexed costal veins; A1-A2 crossvein present.

LEGS. Profemur with AM1 and with one or more additional proximal setae; intercalary row with one row of five or more fine setae; row AV with short, stout setae. Protibia dorsal surface rounded, convex. Metafemur apex macrosetae 2+2+1. Metatarsomere I not expanded apically; plantar setae simple, tapered.

MALE GENITALIA. Valve articulated with pygofer; lateral margin short, articulating with pygofer at a point. Pygofer basolateral membranous cleft present; macrosetae well differentiated into several rows. Subgenital plates free from each other; articulated with valve; macrosetae scattered, irregularly arranged. Style linear, median anterior lobe not pronounced. Basal processes of the aedeagus/connective absent. Aedeagus with single shaft and gonopore. Connective anterior arms widely divergent, T -shaped; articulated with aedeagus. Segment X large; well sclerotized dorsally; with anteroventral processes.

FEMALE GENITALIA. Pygofer with numerous macrosetae. Ovipositor not protruding far beyond pygofer apex. First valvula convex, dorsal sculpturing pattern strigate; sculpturing reaching dorsal margin; without distinctly delimited ventroapical sculpturing. Second valvula relatively slender, gradually tapered; without dorsal median tooth; teeth restricted to apical 1/4 or less; teeth small, regularly or irregularly shaped.

Geography and ecology

Distribution: Neotropical. The only known species, Luheria constricta Osborn, 1923 , is widely distributed in South America from northern Argentina to Bolivia and northeastern Brazil. Host plants are unknown. Males exhibiting mud-puddling behavior have been collected on wet soil.

Remarks

The tribe contains only the type genus and species. Phylogenetic analyses and some plesiomorphic characters of the head, wings, and male genitalia show that this is an early diverging lineage of Deltocephalinae . It appears to be most closely related to the Old World tribe Fieberiellini . L. constricta has an unusual 28S rDNA sequence that contains several large insertions, and some regions were impossible to amplify using primers that worked well for most other Deltocephalinae . This divergent sequence resulted in its long terminal branch in phylogenetic analyses.

Selected references

Linnavuori (1959), Zahniser (2005).

Included genera

Luheria Osborn, 1923

Figures

Fig. 33. Luheriini. Luheria constricta Osborn, 1923. A–I. Standard views (see Material & Methods).