Nesophrosyne

Bennett, Gordon M & O’Grady, Patrick M, 2011, Review of the native Hawaiian leafhopper genus Nesophrosyne (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae) with description of eight new species associated with Broussaisia arguta (Hydrangeaceae), Zootaxa 2805, pp. 1-25 : 5

Nesophrosyne and Nesoreias

We examined wing venation in a total of 1085 specimens, in at least 107 distinct morphological species from across the Hawaiian Archipelago (See Appendix 1 for annotated list of species examined). The examined specimens confirm that wing venation is highly variable not only within the genus, but also within species and even single individuals. Presence of the outer anteapical cell is the most common state, however variation in the size, shape, and presence (in one or both wings) is common in large populations. In some rare instances, the cell is subdivided with individuals having up to four outer anteapical cells. The character’s extreme variability demonstrates the lacking predictive, evolutionary functionality necessary to define a cohesive subgenera, or taxonomic grouping. Thus, the outer anteapical cell cannot be used to differentiate subgenera of Nesophrosyne .

Molecular phylogenetic analyses reveal Nesoreias as polyphyletic, falling out in at least three clades (data not shown). Nesophrosyne eburneola Osborn 1935 and N. marginalis Osborn 1935 are placed as sister species with high support, however N. insularis Kirkaldy 1910 and N. sp.1 are nested well within two different clades with high support. The distribution of species with individuals without cells, with one cell, or with extreme size variation is random across the tree with high support for some groups. These molecular data, coupled with genus-wide morphological assessment, indicate that the subgenus Nesoreias is dubious and we synonymize it with Nesophrosyne .