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Biological studies of Agalliana ensigera (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), a leafhopper associated with several crop diseases in South America

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Abstract

Agalliana ensigera Oman (Cicadellidae: Megophthalminae) occurs frequently in several crops and has been involved in the epidemiology, or at least mentioned, as a vector of several diseases. Its biology was unknown and its nymphs had not yet been described. Here, we provide information on behavioral and biological parameters including descriptions of its immature stages. A. ensigera was able to complete its entire life cycle on alfalfa. Eggs were laid individually beneath the epidermis, in the stem internodes, in either mature or young tissues. Females had a pre-ovipositional period of around 5 days, and the average duration of the egg stage was 11 days. The nymphal period ranged 14–31 days, with an average of 22 days. A period of high mortality was recognized from emergence to day 10. Adult longevity averaged 16.5 days, but some individuals survived up to 96 days. The sex ratio was about 1.2:1 females to males. Females lived longer than males. Data on behavior and new distributional records and host plants are also provided.

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Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to Dr. Christopher H. Dietrich for a critical review of a previous version of this manuscript, to Pablo Pereyra (FML) for improving the figures, and to the anonymous reviewers for their very useful comments that improved the manuscript. T. Perez Grosso was supported by a doctoral fellowship from CONICET. Experiments were supported by INTA-PNPV. PE1. 1135022 and FONCyT No. 2010-0604.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Patología Vegetal, CIAP-INTA, Camino 60 cuadras Km 5 1/2 (X5020ICA), Córdoba, Argentina

    Tomás Pérez Grosso & Luis Conci

  2. Centro de BioInvestigaciones, Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires-CIC, Monteagudo 2772 (2700), Pergamino, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    María Catalano

  3. Instituto de Entomología, Fund. M. Lillo–CONICET, M. Lillo 251 (4000), S. M. de Tucumán, Argentina

    Eduardo G. Virla

Authors
  1. Tomás Pérez Grosso
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  2. María Catalano
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  3. Luis Conci
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  4. Eduardo G. Virla
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Correspondence to Eduardo G. Virla.

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Grosso, T.P., Catalano, M., Conci, L. et al. Biological studies of Agalliana ensigera (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), a leafhopper associated with several crop diseases in South America. Appl Entomol Zool 52, 581–588 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13355-017-0511-2

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