Evolution of the planthoppers (Insecta: Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea).

Area of Science:

• Entomology
• Evolutionary Biology
• Molecular Phylogenetics

Background:

• The planthopper superfamily Fulgoroidea includes ~20 families with debated phylogenetic relationships.
• Previous phylogenetic hypotheses based on morphology and DNA data show key disagreements.
• Asche's hypothesis suggests a correlation between ovipositor structure and planthopper feeding ecology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test competing hypotheses of Fulgoroidea phylogeny.
• To reconstruct the evolutionary relationships of planthoppers using molecular data.
• To evaluate Asche's hypothesis on ovipositor structure and feeding ecology.

Main Methods:

• Phylogenetic reconstructions of Fulgoroidea using DNA sequence data from 83 taxa and four gene loci (18S rDNA, 28S rDNA, Histone 3, Wingless).
• Analysis of data sets using maximum parsimony and partitioned Bayesian criteria.
• Combined analyses were concordant across different reconstruction paradigms.

Main Results:

• Identified several major planthopper lineages, including Delphacidae+Cixiidae, Kinnaridae+Meenoplidae, Fulgoridae+Dictyopharidae, Lophopidae+Eurybrachidae, and Ricaniidae+Caliscelidae.
• Determined the placement of Achilixiidae outside Cixiidae and Tettigometridae as a recently diversified lineage.
• The recovered phylogeny supports Asche's hypothesis of a functional trend in ovipositor structure.

Conclusions:

• The study provides a robust phylogenetic framework for Fulgoroidea based on molecular data.
• The findings resolve several long-standing phylogenetic uncertainties within planthoppers.
• The evolutionary trend in ovipositor structure, linked to feeding ecology, is supported.