The Auchenorrhyncha suborder of the

Hemiptera Hemiptera (; ) is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising more than 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from ...

contains most of the familiar members of what was called the "Homoptera" – groups such as

cicada The cicadas () are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two ...

leafhopper Leafhopper is the common name for any species from the family (biology), family Cicadellidae: based on the type genus ''Cicadella''. These minute insects, colloquially known as hoppers, are plant feeders that suck plant sap from grass, shrubs, or ...

treehopper Treehoppers (more precisely typical treehoppers to distinguish them from the Aetalionidae) and thorn bugs are members of the family Membracidae, a group of insects related to the cicadas and the leafhoppers. About 3,200 species of treehoppers i ...

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, and

spittlebug The superfamily Cercopoidea, some members of which are called froghoppers and still others known as spittlebugs, are a group of hemipteran insects in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha. Adults are capable of jumping many times their height and length ...

s. The

aphid Aphids are small sap-sucking insects in the Taxonomic rank, family Aphididae. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white Eriosomatinae, woolly ...

s and

scale insect Scale insects are small insects of the Order (biology), order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient g ...

s are the other well-known "Homoptera", and they are in the suborder

Sternorrhyncha The Sternorrhyncha suborder of the Hemiptera contains the aphids, whitefly, whiteflies, and scale insects, groups which were traditionally included in the now-obsolete order "Homoptera". The name "Sternorrhyncha" refers to the rearward position of ...

. Distributed worldwide, all members of this group are plant-feeders, and many are vectors of viral and fungal diseases of plants. It is also common for Auchenorrhyncha species to produce either audible sounds or substrate vibrations as a form of communication. Such calls range from vibrations inaudible to humans, to the calls of many species of

s that can be heard for hundreds of metres, at least. In season, they produce the most characteristic and ubiquitous noise of the bush.

Etymology

The word "Auchenorrhyncha" is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

words αὐχήν (auchēn), meaning "neck" or "throat," and ῥύγχος (rhynchos), meaning "snout".

Classification

Debate and uncertainty as to whether the Auchenorrhyncha is a

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

group or not is ongoing; some authors, believing it was not, split it into two suborders, the Clypeorrhyncha (=

Cicadomorpha Cicadomorpha is an infraorder of the insect order Hemiptera which contains the cicadas, leafhoppers, treehoppers, and spittlebugs. There are approximately 35,000 described species worldwide. Distributed worldwide, all members of this group are ...

) and the Archaeorrhyncha (= Fulgoromorpha). In the last 10 years, there has been evidence to support the monophyletic interpretation, and the most recent research indicates the Auchenorrhyncha are in fact a monophyletic lineage. A classification of the Auchenorrhyncha is:C. H. Dietrich in Resh, V. H. & Carde, R. T. (Eds.) 2003 Encyclopedia of Insects. Academic Press . * Infraorder Cicadomorpha (Clypeorrhyncha, Clypeata) ** Superfamily Cercopoidea (

froghopper The superfamily Cercopoidea, some members of which are called froghoppers and still others known as spittlebugs, are a group of hemipteran insects in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha. Adults are capable of jumping many times their height and length, ...

s) ***

Aphrophoridae The Aphrophoridae are a family of spittlebugs belonging to the order Hemiptera. There are at least 160 genera and 990 described species in Aphrophoridae. Taxonomy Traditionally, most of the superfamily Cercopoidea was considered a single fa ...

***

Cercopidae Cercopidae are the largest family of Cercopoidea, a xylem-feeding insect group, commonly called froghoppers. They belong to the hemipteran suborder Auchenorrhyncha. A 2023 phylogenetic study of the family suggested the elevation of the New Worl ...

***

Clastopteridae Clastopteridae is a family of spittlebugs in the order Hemiptera. There are at least 10 genera and 100 described species in Clastopteridae. Genera These 10 genera belong to the family Clastopteridae: * '' Allox'' Hamilton, 2014 * '' Clastoptera ...

***

Epipygidae Epipyginae is a lineage of froghoppers in the insect family Aphrophoridae. There are at least three genera and about five described species in Epipyginae, found in the American tropics. In addition, there are more than 20 undescribed species in t ...

***

Machaerotidae Machaerotidae are a family of bugs in the superfamily Cercopoidea which were formerly placed within Cercopidae. They are sometimes called tube-forming spittle-bugs as the nymphs form a calcareous tube within which they live. These bugs are main ...

** Superfamily Cicadoidea (cicadas) ***

Cicadidae Cicadidae, the true cicadas,World Auchenorrhyncha Database: fam ...

(Platypediidae, Plautillidae, Tettigadidae, Tibicinidae) ***

Tettigarctidae The Tettigarctidae, known as the hairy cicadas, are a small relict (mostly extinct) family of primitive cicadas. Along with more than 20 extinct genera, Tettigarctidae contains a single extant genus, '' Tettigarcta'', with two extant species, o ...

(hairy cicadas) **Superfamily Membracoidea (Cicadelloidea) ***

Aetalionidae Aetalionidae are a family of treehoppers in the superfamily Membracoidea. Aetalionidae are somewhat like Membracidae in that they have one to three rows of short spines on the hind tibia but differ in having the front femur fused to the trochan ...

( Biturritiidae) *** Cicadellidae ( Eurymelidae, Hylicidae, Ledridae, Ulopidae,

leafhoppers Leafhopper is the common name for any species from the family Cicadellidae: based on the type genus ''Cicadella''. These minute insects, colloquially known as hoppers, are plant feeders that suck plant sap from grass, shrubs, or trees. Their hind ...

) *** Melizoderidae *** Membracidae (Nicomiidae,

s) *** Myerslopiidae (Cicadellidae, in part) *Infraorder Fulgoromorpha (Archaeorrhyncha,

s) **Superfamily Fulgoroidea *** Acanaloniidae *** Achilidae *** Achilixiidae ***

Caliscelidae Caliscelidae is a family of planthoppers, sap-sucking insects that belong to the order Hemiptera, suborder Auchenorrhyncha and superfamily Fulgoroidea. They are somewhat anomalous and have often been included within the family Issidae. Studies m ...

***

Cixiidae The Cixiidae are a family of Fulgoroidea, fulgoroid insects, one of many families commonly known as planthoppers, distributed worldwide and comprising more than 2,000 species from over 150 Genus (biology), genera. Taxonomy Genera have been place ...

***

Delphacidae Delphacidae is a family of planthoppers containing about 2000 species, distributed worldwide. Delphacids are separated from other "hoppers" by the prominent spur on the Tibia (arthropod leg), tibia of the hindleg. Diet and pest species All speci ...

*** Derbidae ***

Dictyopharidae Dictyopharidae is a family (biology), family of planthoppers, related to the Fulgoridae. The family comprises nearly 760 species in more than 150 genera which are grouped into two subfamilies, Dictyopharinae and Orgeriinae. Description Like all ...

*** Eurybrachyidae ***

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 ...

***

Fulgoridae The family Fulgoridae is a large group of hemipteran insects, especially abundant and diverse in the tropics, containing over 125 genera worldwide. They are mostly of moderate to large size, many with a superficial resemblance to Lepidoptera due t ...

( lanternflies) *** Gengidae *** Hypochthonellidae *** Issidae *** Kinnaridae ***

Lophopidae Lophopidae is a family of fulgoroidea, fulgoroid plant-hoppers with most species found in tropical South America and Asia (two genera occur in Africa). Characteristics Most members of the family are characterized by the face being longer than wi ...

*** Meenoplidae *** Nogodinidae ***

Ricaniidae Ricaniidae is a family (biology), family of planthopper insects, containing over 400 species worldwide. The highest diversity is in tropical Africa and Asia and in Australia, with a few species occurring in the Palearctic and Neotropical realms. I ...

*** Tettigometridae ***

Tropiduchidae Tropiduchidae is a family of planthoppers in the order Hemiptera. There are at least 160 genera and 600 described species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes o ...

Notes

External links

World Auchenorrhyncha Database

* ttp://www.zikaden.uni-oldenburg.de/Fotoatlas%20englisch.htm Photographic Atlas of the Planthoppers and Leafhoppers of Germany
Photographs of the Auchenorrhyncha of North and South America
{{Authority control Hemiptera Insect suborders Permian insects Cisuralian animals Cisuralian animals of North America Cisuralian first appearances Extant Permian first appearances Hemiptera of North America Paleozoic insects of Asia Paleozoic insects of North America