CICADELLINAE : PART I. PROCONimi 7 



Systematics 



Most of the work published on the classification of tlie CicadelHnae 

 has appeared in a large series of short publications by numerous authors. 

 It is not proposed to give an account of the less important of these in 

 this section; they are referred to in the body of this paper in relation to 

 the taxa with which they deal. 



The first effort toward a synthesis of the cicadelline species was that 

 of Signoret (1853a-c, 1854a-d, and 1855a-d), who published redescrip- 

 tions of a number of species and descriptions of a large number of new 

 species. These were illustrated in color, but the treatment was scarcely 

 taxonomic, and all the species were placed in the genus Tettigonia. 

 I have seen several copies of this work, and find the quality of reproduc- 

 tion of the colored plates variable among them. 



StSl (1869a) published a work dealing with the genera now included 

 in this subfamily ; in it he described a number of new genera. Fowler, 

 in his series of papers in "Biologia Gentrali Americana" (1898a through 

 1900d), made an effort to place the Central American species in genera. 

 Fowler's work, like that of Signoret earlier, was illustrated in color, and 

 the same inconsistency of color reproduction noted in Signoret's work 

 applies to that of Fowler. Ball (1901b) treated the North American 

 species, and Distant (1908g and 1918b) treated a number of species 

 from the Oriental region. 



Melichar (1924a, 1925a, 1926a, 1932a, and 1951a) has made the 

 only effort since Signoret at a comprehensive classification of the sub- 

 family. The work was done without study of the male genitalia, 

 although the taxonomic value of these structures had already been 

 demonstrated (Lawson, 1920a) at least four years before the time the 

 first part of his work was published. Melichar divided the subfamily 

 into two sections, Proconiaria and Cicadellaria, corresponding fairly 

 closely with the tribes Proconiini and Cicadellini as they are 

 treated here (exceptions are noted in the present treatment of the lower 

 taxa). He placed 54 genera in the Proconiaria and included 101 genera 

 in his key to the Cicadellaria. His text treated the species of all the 

 proconiine genera and of 16 cicadelline genera. Melichar died in 

 September 1924 but left some manuscript notes for the remaining 

 genera. A single part of this work, bringing to 18 the number of 

 genera of "Cicadellaria" treated by his text, was published in Melichar's 

 name (1951a) under the direction of Dr. V. Szekessy of the Magyar 

 Nemzeti Muzeum, Budapest. 



Melichar's work was entirely without illustrations but the new genera 

 he included in his key to the Cicadellaria (1926a: 340-345) are here 



