Auchenorrhyncha (Insecta: Hemiptera): Catalogue

Auchenorrhyncha: This is a biosystematics catalogue for the Auchenorrhyncha, generally regarded as a suborder of the Hemiptera. They include planthoppers, cicadas, froghoppers, spittlebugs, treehoppers, and leafhoppers. These insects are highly diverse and form a major component of the plant-feeding fauna of most terrestrial ecosystems. Auchenorrhyncha have adopted varied life habits on nearly all continents and islands and there may be around 42 000 species described worldwide. Compared with larger regions the New Zealand fauna – currently comprising 12 families, 68 genera and 196 species – may appear relatively small but what it lacks in size it makes up for in uniqueness, e.g., 82% of known species do not occur anywhere else in the world. From this point of view New Zealand can be regarded as a biodiversity “hot spot” for this group of insects. New genera and species will be discovered in the future and once fully described the New Zealand fauna may reach 300 to 350 species. In this volume, crucial questions about Auchenorrhyncha are posed and answered: which species occur in New Zealand, what is their status? What are the resources available to identify and study them? Where do species and genera occur ? When are they active? How do they live? To answer these questions this catalogue brings together the available literature and collection-based information on extant taxa recorded from New Zealand’s main islands and its offshore islands. The catalogue has been written with the needs of biosystematists, identifiers, biosecurity and conservation managers, ecologists, other biologists, and members of the public in mind, hence the sections summarising for all species the geographic distribution, biology, dispersal power, and reference to available identification tools, taxonomic revisions, and natural history treatments. A species checklist, full bibliography, taxonomic index, eight appendices, species distribution maps, and primary type colour photographs are also provided.