A revision of the genus Chionomus Fennah (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea: Delphacidae): cleaning out Delphacodes Fieber

Of the Delphacidae, Delphacodes Fieber, 1866, is one of the largest genera, currently holding 134 species. Its status and taxonomy have been unresolved since the early 20th century. Delphacodes sensu stricto, as constructed by Wagner (1963), is now restricted to 10 western Palearctic species (Asche and Remane 1983); 124 New World species require removal from this genus. The large size and polyphyletic nature of the New World Delphacodes make a complete revision daunting. Selecting small monophyletic assemblages to redesignate is a more practical approach. One such grouping is the genus Chionomus, which was incompletely segregated from Delphacodes by Fennah in 1971. Based on characters of the male genitalia and recent molecular evidence this genus, currently containing 3 species, potentially contains 23 additional species from within Delphacodes. This project is working towards redefining Chionomus, presenting a phylogenetic hypothesis, and establishing online resources for the genus.