Insect keys » Membracoidea

Subfamily Cicadellinae: Tribe Cicadellini

Ishidaella latomarginata (Distant)

The Cicadellini are characterised by the swollen frons extending a short distance onto the vertex. The Australian species are medium sized or larger, elongate insects. The most common species are those in the genus Ishidaella, formerly placed in the genus Kolla but separated from that genus by Young (1986). These are medium sized leafhoppers with blue-black tegmina and yellow heads with various patterns of black.

Australia also has three species of Cofana, with C. spectra (known as the white leafhopper) recorded on a number of economic grass species overseas including rice, barley, wheat, sugarcane and sorghum although few reports indicate that any significant damage was caused to those hosts (Young 1979).

No species of the subfamily Cicadellinae has yet been recorded from New Zealand.

Indonesia has a rich and diverse fauna of Cicadellini, many described in the prodigious publications on this tribe by D.A. Young (1968, 1977, 1979, 1986).

The economically important sharpshooters, which don't occur in Australia, belong to this subfamily although most are in the tribe Proconiini which is distributed in the Western Hemisphere (Young 1968). Some sharpshooters are vectors of Pierce's disease of grapevines, which is found on the west coast of the USA and poses a quarantine threat to Australia's valuable wine industry.

Species of Cicadellini known to occur in Australia

Genus Cofana Melichar Cofana Melichar 1926: 345 Yasumatsuus Ishihara 1971: 18, synonymised by Young 1979: 1
Cofana perkinsi (Kirkaldy) Tettigonia perkinsi Kirkaldy 1906: 319 Tettigonia koebelei Kirkaldy 1906: 319, synonymised by Evans 1966: 145 Cicadella perkinsi (Kirkaldy), Evans 1938a : 2 Cofana perkinsi (Kirkaldy), Young 1979: 7 [update: image added 30.v.2011]	Qld, NT, PNG
Cofana spectra (Distant), the white leafhopper Tettigonia albida Signoret 1853: 663, preoccuped by Tettigonia albida Walker (1851) Tettigoniella spectra Distant 1908b: 211, nom. nov. for Tettigonia albida Signoret (1853) Cicadella spectra (Distant), Evans 1966: 145 Cofana spectra (Distant), Young 1979: 7 Known hosts: rice, barley, wheat, sugarcane, sorghum (Young 1979) [Update: 12.iii.2002]	Qld, NT, Lord Howe I., WA, NSW, PNG, Oriental region, Pacific islands [NSW, WA updates: 7.xi.2011]
Cofana unimaculata (Signoret) Tettigonia unimaculata Signoret 1854: 26 Tettigonia punctum Taschenberg 1884: 445, synonymised by Young 1979: 7 Kolla mimica Distant 1908b: 225, synonymised by Young 1979: 7 Kolla tripunctifrons Banks 1910: 51, synonymised by Young 1979: 8 Tettigoniella differentialis Baker 1914: 420, synonymised by Young 1979: 7 Tettigoniella hopinensis Distant 1918: 3, synonymised by Young 1979: 7 Cofana unimaculata (Signoret), Young 1979: 7 Known hosts: Oryza sativa (Poaceae) (Wilson and Claridge 1991)	Qld, NT, PNG, Fiji, Guadalcanal, New Caledonia, Africa, Oriental region
Genus Conoguinula Young Conoguinula Young 1986 : 532
Conoguinula coeruleopennis (Fabricius) Cicada coeruleopennis Fabricius 1803: 73 Tettigonia lactea Signoret 1853: 663, synonymised by Young 1986: 536 Tettigonia pasiphae Kirkaldy 1906: 320, synonymised by Young 1986: 536 Tettigonia parthaon Kirkaldy 1906: 321, synonymised by Young 1986: 536 Conoguinula coeruleopennis (Fabricius), Young 1986: 536	Qld, PNG, Indonesia
Genus Ishidaella Matsumura Ishidaella Matsumura 1912 : 41
Ishidaella albomarginata (Signoret) Tettigonia albomarginata Signoret 1853: 347 Kolla albomarginata (Signoret), Evans 1966: 146 Cicadella dianae Evans 1938a: 4, synonymised by Young 1986: 128 Ishidaella albomarginata (Signoret), Young 1986: 128	Qld, NSW, Tas
Ishidaella anemolua (Kirkaldy) Tettigonia anemolua Kirkaldy 1906: 322 Kolella pupula (Kirby), sensu Evans 1966: 148, synonymised by Young 1986: 134 Ishidaella anemolua (Kirkaldy), Young 1986: 128 Note: This distinctively marked species was the one that Evans (1966) called Kolella pupula (Kirby) but, as Young (1986: 134) pointed out, this was based on a misidentification of a Sri Lankan species which Young (1986) placed in the genus Kolla. Australian species placed by Evans (1966) in the genus Kolla were all transferred by Young (1986) to the genus Ishidaella Matsumura. There is some variation in coloration. Some specimens have the front half of the pronotum and the hind margin narrowly white with the remainder black and the pale markings on the tegmen white rather than yellow. Others have the pronotum mainly black except for some small crescentic markings laterally which are yellow or white and the pale markings of the tegmen yellow. Some specimens have orange rather than yellow. The male genitalia does not vary between these forms, however.	Qld
Ishidaella angustata (Evans) Cicadella angustata Evans 1938a: 3 Kolla angustata (Evans), Evans 1966: 147 Ishidaella angustata (Evans), Young 1986: 128	NSW, Vic, Tas, WA
Ishidaella latomarginata (Distant) Tettigoniella latomarginata Distant 1917a: 190 Kolla latromarginata [sic] (Distant), Evans 1966: 147 Ishidaella latomarginata (Distant), Young 1986: 128	Qld, NSW
Ishidaella naomiae (Evans) Cicadella naomiae Evans 1938a: 3 Cicadella markei Evans 1938a: 4, synonymised by Evans 1966: 147 Kolla naomiae (Evans), Evans 1966: 147 Ishidaella naomiae (Evans), Young 1986: 128 Note: The specimen shown here is the holotype of Cicadella markei Evans 1938a, synonymised with I. naomiae (Evans) by Evans (1966). [update: WA added 31.v.2011]	Tas, WA
Ishidaella pettimolua (Kirkaldy) Tettigonia pettimolua Kirkaldy 1906: 321 Cicadella heroni Evans 1938a: 3, synonymised by Young 1986: 128 Cicadella sidnica Evans 1938a: 4, synonymised by Young 1986: 128 Ishidaella pettimolua (Kirkaldy), Young 1986: 128 [update: image added 30.i.2009]	NSW
Ishidaella quadrata (Walker) Tettigonia quadrata Walker 1851: 781 Kolla quadrata (Walker), Evans 1966: 148 Ishidaella quadrata (Walker), Day and Fletcher 1994: 1148 Note: This species was unknown to Evans (1966) although he recognised it as belonging to the species he placed together in Kolla. Young (1986) transferred those species to Ishidaella but simply listed this species as unknown. Based on Evans' (1966) placement of the species, Day and Fletcher (1994) placed it in Ishidaella but it is clearly a nomen dubium.	Tas
Ishidaella richmondensis (Distant) Tettigoniella richmondensis Distant 1917a: 191 Cicadella turneri Evans 1942 : 28, synonymised by Evans 1966: 147 Kolla richmondensis (Distant), Evans 1966: 147 Ishidaella richmondensis (Distant), Young 1986: 128	Qld, NSW
Ishidaella tumida (Evans) Kolla tumida Evans 1966: 148 Ishidaella tumida (Evans), Young 1986: 128	NSW
Species of doubtful presence in Australia
Conogonia coerulescens (Fabricius) Cicada coerulescens Fabricius 1803: 74 Conogonia coerulescens (Fabricius), Metcalf 1965: 421 Note: This species was recorded from "New Holland" by Fabricius (1803) but was not mentioned by Evans (1966) nor Evans (1977). Young (1986) lists the distribution as being restricted to PNG and raises doubts about the Australian record. Australian records from the early 19th Century are notoriously unreliable since specimens were often unlabelled or documented as having been collected on a voyage to Australia. Such specimens may have been collected in Indonesia or even South Africa on the voyage back to Europe.

Subfamily Cicadellinae: Tribe Cicadellini

Species of Cicadellini known to occur in Australia

Genus Cofana Melichar

Genus Conoguinula Young

Genus Ishidaella Matsumura

Species of doubtful presence in Australia