Language: English
South America possesses a staggering number of insect species. Whilst most people are familiar with its butterflies few realise that there is a group of equally colourful and interesting insects. These are commonly referred to as either Spittle bugs, due to the watery excreta produced by the young or Frog-hoppers, the latter referring to their great ability to jump. In South America they are also known for the serious damage they cause to pasture grasses and sugar-cane. This book provides the first comprehensive and beautifully illustrated guide to this family of jewel-like insects. Nearly every species is included in superb colour together with line drawings to aid identification. Stunning pictures are also given of the insects in the wild.
This book is aimed at museum curators, researchers, agronomists and amateur hobbyist and it hoped that it will stimulate further work on this fascinating and richly colourful group of insects. The text includes a complete checklist of species with comprehensive synonomies and chapters on classification, reproduction and biology.
1. Introduction - 2. Classification - 3. Biology - Feeding - Excretion - Reproduction - Economic impact - 4. Material and methods - Abbreviations - Figures and figured specimens - Original paintings - Type status - Identifying types - Germar types - Jacobi types - Lallemand types - Stal types - Walker types - 5. Annotated check-list - 5. Appendices - Appendix 1. Data from Walker`s type specimens in the BMNH - Appendix 2. Species lacking a habitus figure in the current work - Appendix 3. Original species descriptions - 7. Summary - Review of paper - Synopsis of classification with new nomenclatorial changes - 8. References - Acknowledgements - Index
Gervasio Silva Carvalho is Professor in the Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio Grande do Sul - Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Mick Webb is Curator of Hemiptera at the Natural History Museum, London.