Minnesota Seasons - Leafhoppers (Aphrodes spp.)

Overview • Description • Distribution • Taxonomy

Overview

Photo by Babette Kis

Aphrodes is a genus of typical leafhoppers. It occurs in Europe, Asia, and North America. In the United States it occurs in the east from Maine to New Jersey, west to Minnesota and Illinois, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to North Carolina. It also occurs on the West Coast from northern Washington to southern Oregon.

There are 23 or 24 Aphrodes species worldwide, at least 3 species in North America north of Mexico, and at least 1 species in Minnesota.

Adults and nymphs are usually found on the ground. They probably feed on grasses and grass roots.

Description

The top of the head (vertex) is broadly angled and projects well forward of the eyes. The crown usually has a distinct longitudinal ridge in the middle. The simple eyes (ocelli) on the front margin are slightly closer to the compound eyes than they are to the vertex. The vertex is densely and conspicuously grooved (striate). The striations are irregular, wrinkle-like, and are parallel with the rear margin of the vertex (transverse).

The body is yellowish-brown. On the male, there is a contrasting yellowish band across the exoskeletal plate on the first segment of the thorax (pronotum). The pronotum is densely and conspicuously grooved (striate). The striations are irregular, wrinkle-like, and longitudinal.

Leafhoppers in the genus Aphrodes are variable in both color and markings, and males appear very different than females. They are best identified by noting the species on which they feed, or by dissection and examination of the male genitalia.

Distribution

Distribution Map

Sources

24, 27, 29, 30, 82, 83.

Medler, John T. (1942). The leafhoppers of Minnesota. University of Minnesota. Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station. Retrieved from the University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/204089.

Taxonomy
Order	Hemiptera (true bugs, hoppers, aphids, and allies)
Suborder	Auchenorrhyncha (true hoppers)
Infraorder	Cicadomorpha (spittlebugs, cicadas, leafhoppers and treehoppers)
Superfamily	Membracoidea (leafhoppers and treehoppers)
Family	Cicadellidae (typical leafhoppers)
Subfamily	Aphrodinae
Tribe	Aphrodini

Subordinate Taxa
girdled leafhopper (Aphrodes bicinctus) leafhopper (Aphrodes astrachanica) leafhopper (Aphrodes bolivari) leafhopper (Aphrodes brachycephalus) leafhopper (Aphrodes brachyptera) leafhopper (Aphrodes carinata) leafhopper (Aphrodes diminuta) leafhopper (Aphrodes falklandica) leafhopper (Aphrodes fisulii) leafhopper (Aphrodes gurjevae) leafhopper (Aphrodes hamiltoni) leafhopper (Aphrodes makarovi) leafhopper (Aphrodes nuristanica) leafhopper (Aphrodes olivacea) leafhopper (Aphrodes paralonga) leafhopper (Aphrodes peltastes) leafhopper (Aphrodes pulchra) leafhopper (Aphrodes thais)

Synonyms
Accephalus Acecephalus Acocepbalus Acocephala Acocephalis Acocephalus Acrocephalus Acucephalus Aeocephalus Aphroderes Aprodes Apterodes Aucucephalus Pholetaera Pholetera Tocephalus

Common Names
This genus has no common name. The common name of the family Cicadellidae is leafhoppers, and it is applied here for convenience.