Geographical variation in the genitalia of three species of Cicadellidae (Hemiptera)

Abstract

AbstractSpecimens of three species of Cicadellidae, Agallia laevis Ribaut, Eupteryx stachydearum Hardy and E.urticae Fabricius, are examined from different parts of their distribution in Europe and differences in genital characters are recorded. Variation in Agallia laevis suggests a dine or stepped cline from S.E. to N.W. in the shape of the anal appendages and aedeagus, while E. stachydearum shows a N–S cline, and a similar altitudinal cline, in the length and curvature of the apical processes of the aedeagus. In E.urticae geographical variation in the size and direction of the same processes also clearly occurs, though the exact pattern is not yet clear.