Thanks to Chris Dietrich and Jason Cryan for their assistance with the classification of the species in this gallery.
Designed by Paul Smith 2006. This website is copyrighted by law. Material contained herewith may not be used without the prior written permission of FAUNA Paraguay. Photographs on this page were taken by Paul Smith, Pier Cacciali and Leila K and are used with their permission.
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CICADELLIDAE: LEAFHOPPERS
By far the biggest family in the Hemipteran order, the Cicadellids consist of over 20,000 described species worldwide. They are slender-bodied, tapering towards the end and usually small - the largest species reaching a maximum of 20mm. Though many species are cryptically-coloured, some are ornately-patterned. The modified hind legs allow the leafhoppers to leap and take flight at the slightest disturbance. The hind tibia are angular and slightly flattened with one or more rows of spines running along their length. Leafhoppers are sap suckers, most species feeding from phloem vessels, but others concentrating on the nutrient poor xylem vessels. Some species are specific to single hosts, others are more general, and it has been suggested that every species of plant on earth is attacked by at least one leafhopper species. As a result they are considered pests and are capable of considerable ecological damage due to the transmission of plant viruses and the effects of their toxic saliva.
Click on the images to enlarge them.
FIGURE 1

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 2

FIGURE 2
FIGURE 3

FIGURE 3
FIGURE 4

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FIGURE 5

FIGURE 5
FIGURE 6

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FIGURE 7

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FIGURE 8

FIGURE 8
FIGURE 1 - Caliscarta sp, PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Paul Smith November 2007).
FIGURE 2 - Unidentified sp (Tribe Coelidini), PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Paul Smith November 2007).
FIGURE 3 - Acrogonia virescens - Encarnación, Departamento Itapúa (Paul Smith January 2008).
FIGURE 4 - Unidentified sp (Tribe Cicadelini), PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Pier Cacciali April 2008).
FIGURE 5 - Oncompetopia tucumana (Subfamily Proconiinae), PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Paul Smith June 2008 ).
FIGURE 6 - Unidentified sp, Estancia Laguna Blanca, Departamento San Pedro (Paul Smith February 2010).
FIGURE 7 - Unidentified sp. - PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Leila K August 2008).
FIGURE 8 - Unidentified sp. - Encarnación, Departamento Itapúa (Paul Smith April 2010).