Biosecurity threat, not present in Australia
Acanalonia conica (Say)
Green conehead planthopper
Caution
Many of the insects depicted on these pages are outwardly similar and you should not use photographs as the sole means of identification. These pages form part of a scientific key which will assist a trained entomologist to identify the species accurately.
Acanalonia conica (Say, 1830)
Common Name: Green conehead planthopper
Subfamily/Tribe: Acanaloniinae/Acanaloniini
Distribution: North America (USA and Canada), Guatemala, Cuba and Mexico. First reported from Europe in 2004 in Italy and subsequently collected in Switzerland in 2014 (Trivellone et al. 2015). Recently, Acanalonia conica was recorded from Romania (Chiraceanu et al. 2017), so it appears to be spreading throughout southern Europe.
Economic Status: Acanalonia conica is found on a very wide suite of plants including ornamental plants, herbs, fruit trees and vines. Specifically A. conica has been recorded as a pest of grapes and ginseng. In North America and Europe, it is often found in association with Metcalfa pruinosa as the wide host range is very similar. The damage observed includes feeding damage and excessive honeydew production which promotes outbreaks of sooty mould. Not a known vector of plant viruses.
Notes: Acanalonia is represented by 62 species globally but none is present in Australia; indeed the family Acanaloniidae is not represented in Australia. Despite this, Acanalonia conica could easily be confused with many native Australian Fulgomorpha species, particularly Nogodinidae and Flatidae such as the speciose genus Siphanta. Acanalonia conica can be distinguished from Flatidae and Nogodinidae by the lack of granulations on the tegmen (typical of Flatidae) and triangular pointed shape of the vertex (not seen in Australian Nogodinidae).
Image: Tibor Nagy 2015