Studies On The External Female Genitalia Of Fulgoroidea (Hemiptera:Auchenorrhyncha)

The superfamily Fulgoroidea belongs to the suborder Auchenorrhyncha in Hemiptera,widely distributed all over the world,which has an important taxonomic status in Hemiptera.Species in this Superfamily are all phytophagous,many of them are serious agriforestry pests,usually cause huge economic losses to agricultural and forestry production by sap sucking on plant,laying eggs,secreting honeydew affecting plant phytosynthesis,especially by virus transmission among plants.However,the identification of planthopper species is mainly based on external morphology and male external genitalia,female external genitalic characters in many planthoppers remain insufficiently studied,which is unfavorable for species identification of important economic pests of planthoppers and comprehensive pest management research.In addition,the family-level phylogenetic relationship of the Fulgoroidea is still controversial,and the recent phylogenetic studies have not fully considered the characteristics of female external genitalia.In this paper,the characteristics of the female genitalia of Fulgoroideaare studied,including 41 representative species in Delphacidae,Cixiidae,Fulgoridae and so on,totally 13 families in thse superfamily;meanwhile,the phylogenetic relationship of Fulgoroidea based on the characteristics of female external genitalia is also attempted.The results of the study are as follows:1.There are obvious differences in the characteristics of female external genitalia in different families and generic taxa,female genitalic characters among planthoppers species can be recognized as well.The characteristics of female external genitalia can provide a basis for the identification of important economic planthopper pest and serve for agriforestry production;2.The phylogenetic analysis based on female genitalia shows that Delphacidae and Cixiidae located at the base of the phylogenetic tree,followed by Derbidae and Meenoplidae,Nogodinidea,Flatidae and Ricaniidae are located in the most evolutionary branch of the phylogenetic tree;Nogodinidea,Flatidae and Ricaniidae are closely related,Ricaniidae is a monophyletic group;3.The results generally support Bourgion’s(1993)division of the female external genitalia of planthoppers,but this theis found that the female external genitalia of some species in Derbidae can be classified as Orthopteroid-type,rather than all Fulgoroid-type.The female external genitalia of Derbidae need to be studied further.This study can provide reference for the identification of economic planthopper pests in agriforestry production,lay the foundation for the integrated management of planthopper pests in agriforestry production,and provide important information for the subsequent identification of important planthopper pests and the construction of integrated control network system.In addition,this study can also provide scientific data for the coevolution between planthopper species and hosts.