Like the other three families in the superfamily Cicadoidea, the Cicadellidae
have:
Antennae short and bristlelike, arising in front of or between the
compound eyes.
Tarsi 3-segmented.
Middle coxae short and contiguous.
No Y-vein in the anal area of the front wing.
Characteristics for distinguishing the Cicadellidae include:
Smaller, more active than Cicadidae.
Do not have the extended pronotum of the Membracidae.
Hind tibiae with 1 or more rows of spines; such rows lacking in
the Cercopidae.
In dorsal view, the Cicadellidae tend to be more elongate, less oval, than
the Cercopidae.
References:
Page 130 and plate 4 in D. J. Borror and R. E. White. 1970. A Field Guide
to the Insects. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
Page 163 in R. G. Bland and H. E. Jaques. 1978. How to Know the Insects,
3rd ed. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Co. 409 p.
Page 325 in D. J. Borror, C. A. Triplehorn, and N. F. Johnson. 1989. An Introduction
to the Study of Insects, 6th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders College Publishing.
875 p.
Page 430 in H. V. Daly, J. T. Doyen, and A. H. Purcell III. 1998. Introduction
to Insect Biology and Diversity, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press. 680 p.
