A comprehensive phylogeny of the spittlebugs (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cercopoidea): using molecular data to revise familial, tribal, and generic classifications

The Cercopoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadomorpha) are an important group of xylem-sap feeding insects, with approximately 3,000 species described in 5 families (Cercopidae, Aphrophoridae, Machaerotidae, Clastopteridae, and Epipygidae). Spittlebugs, as they are commonly called, are best known for their nymphal habit of producing frothy masses of digested plant sap. The classification of Cercopoidea remains contentious at most taxonomic levels, with disagreements regarding even the number of families included in the superfamily. In a recent molecular phylogenetic investigation of Cercopoidea, Cryan & Svenson (2010) presented evidence supporting the monophyly of four major spittlebug lineages, corresponding to: Machaerotidae, Clastopteridae, Cercopidae, and Aphrophoridae + Epipygidae. Those results, however, disagreed with previous classification schemes, and the relationships were not unequivocally resolved, likely due to sampling issues. The present study is an expansion of the Cryan & Svenson (2010) investigation, including DNA nucleotide sequence data from seven loci (12s rDNA, 16s rDNA, 18s rDNA, 28s rDNA, histone H2A, histone H3, and wingless) generated from a greatly expanded set of spittlebug taxa. The objectives of this research are to: 1). reconstruct the phylogeny of Cercopoidea, with emphasis on family, tribal, and generic relationships; and 2). test the alternative classification schemes previously proposed for Cercopoidea. The goal of this project is to revise the classification of Cercopoidea within a phylogenetic context.