''Siphanta'' is a genus of

planthopper A planthopper is any insect in the infraorder Fulgoromorpha, in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, a group exceeding 12,500 described species worldwide. The name comes from their remarkable resemblance to leaves and other plants of their environment ...

s in the family

Flatidae Flatidae are a family of fulgoroid planthoppers. They are Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan in distribution and are distinguished from others in the superfamily by a combination of characters. Like all other planthoppers, they suck phloe ...

Description

In adults of ''Siphanta'', the

frons Insect morphology is the study and description of the physical form of insects. The terminology used to describe insects is similar to that used for other arthropods due to their shared evolutionary history. Three physical features separate insec ...

is slightly convex to flat, has a median longitudinal carina and either lacks lateral carinae or these are very short. The vertex meets the frons at a carinate margin. The

pronotum The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum (dorsal), the prosternum (ventral), and the propleuron (lateral) on e ...

is flat medially and has lateral carinae that curve posterolaterally and do not reach the posterior margin. The posterior margin of the pronotum is broadly concave. The

mesonotum The mesothorax is the middle of the three segments of the thorax of hexapods, and bears the second pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the mesonotum (dorsal), the mesosternum ( ventral), and the mesopleuron (lateral) ...

is also flat medially (occasionally with a faint median carina) and has two lateral carinae. The forewing (

tegmen A tegmen (: tegmina) designates the modified leathery front wing on an insect particularly in the orders Dermaptera (earwigs), Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets and similar families), Mantodea (praying mantis), Phasmatodea (stick and leaf insec ...

) is triangular, lacks apical lines and has a sutural angle that ranges from obtusely rounded to slightly acute. The tibia of the hind leg bears one spine.

Diet

Like other planthoppers, ''Siphanta'' are

herbivores A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat ...

. ''Siphanta acuta'' is

polyphagous Feeding is the process by which organisms, typically animals, obtain food. Terminology often uses either the suffixes -vore, -vory, or -vorous from Latin ''vorare'', meaning "to devour", or -phage, -phagy, or -phagous from Greek φαγε ...

, meaning it feeds on a wide range of plants. It is a pest of

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

guava Guava ( ), also known as the 'guava-pear', is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava '' Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), nativ ...

macadamia ''Macadamia'' is a genus of four species of trees in the flowering plant family Proteaceae. They are indigenous to Australia—specifically, northeastern New South Wales and central and southeastern Queensland. Two species of the genus are comm ...

and various ornamental plants. ''Siphanta gregaria'' feeds on '' Cordia cylindrostachya''.

Distribution

Most species in this genus occur in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, with the exception of ''S. expatria'' from

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

. ''Siphanta acuta'' and ''S. patruelis'' have been introduced to other countries.

Species

* '' Siphanta acuta'' (Walker, 1851) * '' Siphanta acutipenins'' (Kirkaldy, 1906) * '' Siphanta alboconspersa'' (Distant, 1910) * '' Siphanta angularis'' (Fletcher, 1985) * '' Siphanta angustata'' (Fletcher, 1985) * '' Siphanta anomala'' (Jacobi, 1928) * '' Siphanta atomaria'' (Walker, 1858) * '' Siphanta bifida'' (Fletcher, 1985) * '' Siphanta breviceps'', synonym of '' Siphanta hebes'' * '' Siphanta compacta'' (Fletcher, 1985) * '' Siphanta constricta'' (Fletcher, 1985) * '' Siphanta eberhardi'' (Fletcher, 1985) * '' Siphanta expatria'' (Fletcher, 1985) * '' Siphanta fusca'' (Fletcher, 1985) * '' Siphanta galeata'' (Kirkaldy, 1906) * '' Siphanta gallowayi'' (Fletcher, 1985) * '' Siphanta glauca'' (Fletcher, 1985) * '' Siphanta granulata'' (Kirkaldy, 1906) * '' Siphanta granulicollis'' (Stsl, 1859) * '' Siphanta gregaria'' (Jacobi, 1928) * '' Siphanta griseoviridis'' (Fletcher, 1985) * '' Siphanta hackeri'' (Fletcher, 1985) * '' Siphanta hebes'' (Walker, 1851) (Green planthopper) * '' Siphanta insularis'', synonym of '' Phyllyphanta producta'' * '' Siphanta intricata'', synonym of '' Ormenis intricata'' * '' Siphanta javana'', synonym of '' Siphanta patruelis'' * '' Siphanta kurandae'' (Fletcher, 1985) * '' Siphanta lucindae'' (Kirkaldy, 1906) * '' Siphanta luteolineata'' (Fletcher, 1985) * '' Siphanta lynae'' (Fletcher, 1985) * '' Siphanta minuta'' (Fabricius, 1775) * '' Siphanta montana'' (Fletcher, 1985) * '' Siphanta munda'', synonym of '' Euphanta munda'' * '' Siphanta nubecula'' (Jacobi, 1928) * '' Siphanta occidentalis'' (Fletcher, 1985) * '' Siphanta parva'' (Fletcher, 1985) * '' Siphanta patruelis'' (Stal, 1859) * '' Siphanta peracuta'' (Fletcher, 1985) * '' Siphanta recurva'' (Fletcher, 1985) * '' Siphanta roseicincta'' (Walker, 1862) * '' Siphanta rubra'' (Schmidt, 1904) * '' Siphanta sensilis'', synonym of '' Siphanta minuta'' * '' Siphanta similis'' (Fletcher, 1985) * '' Siphanta solitaria'' (Fletcher, 1985) * '' Siphanta stigma'', synonym of '' Siphanta hebes'' * '' Siphanta striata'' (Fletcher, 2002) * '' Siphanta subgranulosa'' (Kirkaldy, 1906) * '' Siphanta tasmanica'' (Fletcher, 1985) * '' Siphanta thambeos'' (Fletcher, 1985) * '' Siphanta toga'', synonym of '' Siphanta patruelis'' * '' Siphanta trimaculata'' (Distant, 1910) * '' Siphanta tropica'' (Fletcher, 1985) * '' Siphanta unicolor'' (Walker, 1851)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10668571 Flatidae Auchenorrhyncha genera Hemiptera of Australia