Ricania speculum

Ricania speculum
Ricania speculum on citrus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Auchenorrhyncha
Infraorder: Fulgoromorpha
Superfamily: Fulgoroidea
Family: Ricaniidae
Genus: Ricania
Species: R. speculum
Binomial name
Ricania speculum
(Walker, 1851)
Synonyms
  • Flatoides perforatus Walker, 1851[1]
  • Flatoides speculum Walker, 1851
  • Ricania malaya Stål, 1854

[1]

Ricania speculum, common name Black planthopper or Ricaniid Planthopper, is a species of planthoppers belonging to the family Ricaniidae. [2]

Nymph of Ricania speculum

This species is considered a major agricultural pest for several crops in tropical and subtropical areas (apples, coffee plants, oil palms, Citrus species, etc.).[3][4][5][6]

Description

Ricania speculum can reach a length of about 8 millimetres (0.31 in), with a wingspan of about 15 millimetres (0.59 in). These grasshoppers have dark brown wings with central wavy horizontal bands and irregular transparent patches of different sizes. [7][8] The precostal area of the forewings shows dense transverse veinlets and the costal margin is distinctly convex near the base. [4] In males the tip of the abdomen is pointed, while in females is rounded. The final instar larvae are white with black spots and waxy secrections on the abdomen. [9]

Biology

These insects feed on sap that they suck from the leaves of the host plants. Ricania speculum has a single generation per year. The eggs overwinter in the bark of the branches waiting for the spring hatching.

Distribution and habitat

This species in widespread in China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Philippines and Vietnam. Recently has been accidentally introduced in northern Italy, possibly with ornamental plants or crops.[10][11] This species can be found in the low-elevation mountains and prefers dark environments.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Catalogue of life
  2. ↑ Encyclopedia of life
  3. ↑ Biosecurity Australia (2008) Issues paper for the import risk analysis for fresh apple fruit from the People’s Republic of China Australian Government, Department of Agriculture
  4. 1 2 Cui-Ping Bu and Ai-Ping Liang First Record of the Genus Aprivesa Melichar (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha) from South India, with Description of One New Species
  5. ↑ Dennis S. Hill Agricultural Insect Pests of the Tropics and Their Control
  6. ↑ Dennis S. Hil Pests of Crops in Warmer Climates and Their Control
  7. 1 2 Ricania speculum at gaga.biodiv.tw
  8. ↑ Project Noah
  9. ↑ E. Rossi, A. Lucchi The Asian planthopper Ricania speculum (Walker) (Homoptera: Ricaniidae) on several crops in Italy
  10. ↑ FLOW Website
  11. ↑ Giuseppe Mazza, Fabrizio Pennacchio, Elisabetta Gargani, Italo Franceschini, Pio Federico Roversi e Fabio Cianferoni First report of Ricania speculum (Walker, 1851) in Europe (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Ricaniidae) Zootaxa, vol. 3861, nº 3, Magnolia Press


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, October 07, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.