ISRAEL JOURNAL OF ENTOMOLOGY, Vol. 41–42, 2011–2012, pp. 7–20 The Dictyopharidae (Homoptera: Cicadina: Fulgoroidea) of Israel ALEXANDER F. EMELJANOV,1 TIRZA STERN,2 AND AMNON FREIDBERG2 1Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya nab., 1, 199034, St. Petersburg, Russia. E-mail:
[email protected] 2Department of Zoology, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel (E-mail:
[email protected];
[email protected]) ABSTRACT Sixteen species of Dictyopharidae (Tachorga—2 species, Nymphorgerius—1 species, Coppa—2 species, Dictyophara—9 species, and Raivuna—2 spe- cies) are recorded from Israel, and an illustrated key for their identification is provided. The general distribution of the species and collection data in Israel are given. KEYWORDS: Dictyopharidae, Israel, key, illustrations, distribution INTRODUCTION Dictyopharidae (plant hoppers) are a moderately-large family of Fulgoroidea with about 730 species (Emeljanov, unpublished data). They are medium-sized insects (length usu- ally 5–15 mm, but up to 26 mm), often with strongly modified head bearing a distinct cephalic process. They are primarily distributed in arid, semiarid, and tropical countries, and are obligate terrestrial phytophages usually collected from herbs, grass, and shrubs, but little is known about their life habits. Some of them are agricultural pests, such as Retiala viridis Fennah, which is a minor pest of coffee (Richards and Davies, 1977). The adults are mostly active in the summer, and the mode of life of the nymphs is similar to that of the adults. Two subfamilies are known: Dictyopharinae—generally macropterous and larger (10–26 mm long), usually with anteriorly prolonged head; and Orgeriinae—brachypter- ous (flightless) and smaller (up to 10 mm), with thickened short tegmen and rounded body (Emeljanov, 1964).