''Eumetopina flavipes'', the island sugarcane planthopper, is a species of

planthopper A planthopper is any insect in the infraorder Fulgoromorpha, in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, a group exceeding 12,500 described species worldwide. The name comes from their remarkable resemblance to leaves and other plants of their environmen ...

present throughout

South East Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

. ''E. flavipes'' is a

vector Vector most often refers to: *Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction *Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematic ...

for

Ramu stunt disease The Ramu stunt disease is a disease of the sugarcane widespread throughout Papua New Guinea, but not detected in Australia. '' Eumetopina flavipes'', the island sugarcane planthopper, is a species of planthopper present throughout South East Asia w ...

, a plant disease which affects sugarcane. Ramu stunt disease is widespread throughout Papua New Guinea, but has not been detected in Australia. ''Eumetopina'' is thought to have evolved in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

, where up to four undescribed species have been collected, but many more may be present. In Papua New Guinea, ''E. flavipes'' occurs on ''

Saccharum officinarum ''Saccharum officinarum'' is a large, strong-growing species of grass in the genus '' Saccharum''. Its stout stalks are rich in sucrose, a simple sugar which accumulates in the stalk internodes. It originated in New Guinea, and is now cultivated ...

'', '' S. robustum'', '' S. edule'' and ''Saccharum'' hybrids sugarcane. Virus-free populations of ''E. flavipes'' are present on ''Saccharum'' hybrids and ''S. officinarum'' on many islands in the

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost extremity of the Australian mai ...

, and a number of small populations persist on the northern

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...

- the very tip of Queensland, mainland Australia.

References

External links

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Hemiptera of Asia Agricultural pest insects Insect vectors of plant pathogens Insects described in 1913 Delphacini {{Delphacidae-stub