Proceedings of 

 the United States 

 National Museum 



SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION • WASHINGTON, D.C. 



Volume 122 1967 Number 3581 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE 

 BALCLUTHA 



(HOMOPTERA: CICADELLIDAE)i 



By H. Derrick Blocker - 



The genus Balclutha is cosmopolitan in distribution. This paper 

 treats 36 taxa found in the Western Hemisphere including 2 which 

 are given new status, 4 in new combinations, and 15 new to science. 

 Although specimens of Balclutha are commonly collected in niunbers 

 in grassy areas, some taxa are based on single specimens or very short 

 series. The genus is placed in the subfamily Deltocephalinae. It is 

 considered a member of the tribe Balcluthini by Oman (1949) but is 

 placed in Macros telini by Linnavuori (1959); the former tribal 

 designation is followed here. There have been few taxonomic works 

 restricted to this tribe and these have included only a portion of the 

 Western Hemisphere. This geographical restriction and the wide 

 distribution of certain taxa have resulted in some confusion as to the 

 identity of a number of species and subspecies. Ecological and bio- 

 logical data published on Balcluthini are infrequent. The host plants 

 are usually considered to be grasses and sedges. 



In this study, the internal male genitalia were dissected using tech- 

 niques described by Oman (1949) and Young (1952). Illustrations 



* Contribution from the Entomology Department, North Carolina Agricultural 

 Experiment Station, Raleigh, N.C. Published with the approval of the Director 

 of Research as Paper No. 2171 of the Journal Series. 



2 Department of Entomology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kans. 



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