Numbers
ca. 340 spp. in 66 genera of 4 subfamilies in our area (146/39 in Canada), ~2,200 described species in ~400 genera worldwide (plus great many undescribed)
(1)(2)(3)
synoptic classification coming up; see draft scheme at [cite:872730]
Size
1.5-10.0 mm, mostly 2-4 mm
(1)Identification
Thumblike antenna and the spur on the hind tarsus distinguish this from other families.
Adults may be either long-winged (macropterous, or dispersal forms, with fully developed flying wings) or short-winged (brachypterous, adult wings not functional for flying) within a single population of a species. Sometimes brachypterous individuals are hard to tell apart from nymphs.
Range
rather evenly distributed on all continents and islands, except Antarctica; at present most species have been described from temperate regions, but far northern regions (e.g., AK & n. Canada) have surprisingly diverse faunas
(1)Life Cycle
Many – but not all – planthopper species in the eastern United States do better in moist or wet situations and years than they do in dry situations or years. Delphacid populations in particular will decline precipitously during droughts. Populations of individual species may therefore be highly variable between years -- abundant one year, but nearly absent the next.
Planthoppers tend to be less common in successional habitats than they are in ecologically stable habitats. Particularly with the short-winged planthoppers, habitats that are maintained in a similar condition for a long period of time tend to be more productive. Natural habitats that are ecologically stable such as grassy balds or wet meadows are particularly attractive localities for finding planthoppers.
(1)Remarks
the largest family of planthoppers, its members are often very common.
(4)
"Delphacini should be broken up into subgroupings, but so far there hasn't been adequate phylogenetic work to determine what those groupings should be - it really needs to be a world perspective. The studies that have been done have neither enough signal nor enough taxa. If mitogenomes become easier - and less expensive - to obtain, then that would be a possibility for sorting things out (or anchor hybridization maybe). An underlying issue is having the specimens to work on - right now mitogenomics seems to require fresh material." — Charles Bartlett comments to Solomon Hendrix