~ 1803 ~ Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies 2017; 5(3): 1803-1808 E-ISSN: 2320-7078 P-ISSN: 2349-6800 JEZS 2017; 5(3): 1803-1808 © 2017 JEZS Received: 05-03-2017 Accepted: 06-04-2017 Rupashree Das Assam Agricultural University, Department of Entomology, Jorhat-13, Assam, India Anjumoni Devee Assam Agricultural University, Department of Entomology, Jorhat-13, Assam, India Correspondence Rupashree Das Assam Agricultural University, Department of Entomology, Jorhat-13, Assam, India Morphotaxonomy of five species of leafhopper (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) from rice ecosystem of Jorhat, Assam Rupashree Das and Anjumoni Devee Abstract Two species from each genus of Nephotettix and Cofana and one species of Maiestas were studied from rice ecosystem of Jorhat, Assam during 2012-2014 and were described based on morphological and male genital characters. Species of Nephotettix can be identified based on shape of vertex, spots present on vertex and forewing and the number of spines present on aedeagal shaft of male genitalia. The Cofana species were identified based on their body size, the numbers of distinctive black spots on vertex and the presence of spines on pygofer. In case of Maiestas species, ocelli was on the anterior margins of vertex and very close to the eyes, forewings with light brown ‘W’ shaped bands which gave a zig-zagged pattern. A simple key for identification of these species in field level was also prepared. Keywords: Cicadellidae, Nephotettix spp, Cofana spp, Maiestas, morphotaxonomic and male genital characters, India, rice 1. Introduction Leafhoppers, belonging to the Cicadellidae are considered as pest and vectors of economically important crops [1] . These differ from other members of the Auchenorrhyncha by the presence of two or more rows of spines on hind tibiae and pronotum not extending back over abdomen [25] . The five species were grouped initially based on the morphological approach with respect to various reliable taxonomical characters viz., body colour, specific markings on vertex, pronotum and scutellum, shapes and structures of head, spots on forewing, body length and presence of spines on male pygofer and aedeagus [23, 24] . The systematic information on available leafhopper species found in Assam remains insufficient mainly due to various small publications. The present contribution is an attempt to provide a comprehensive account of the genus Nephotettix, Cofana and Maiestas found in rice ecosystem of Assam and provide a key for the identification of common species of that locality. In this paper, five species under three genera were described based on morphological and male genital characters. 2. Materials and Methods The present study was carried out at the Department of Entomology, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam during 2012-2014. Insects were collected from various rice fields by sweep nets and aspirators. The specimens were sorted out by examining the morphological characters [23] [24] under the Leica DM 750 (Carl Zeiss-2000-c) binocular stereoscopic microscope and then half of total collection of each specimen stored dry and rest half preserved in 70% ethanol for further study. For external male genitalia, the entire abdomen was soaked in 10% KOH, boiled for 3-5 minutes, and then kept in oven for 15-20 minutes. Abdomen was dissected to study the genitalia [13] . Then observation, measurement and drawing were made with the help of image analyser of Leica M 165C microscope and species identified by consulting published taxonomic keys and related literatures [4, 28, 22, 11, 23, 24, 10, 1, 14, 6, 7] .