Book Review

AUSTRALIAN PSYLLOIDEA: JUMPING PLANTLICE

and LERP INSECTS. By David Hollis. AustralianBiological Resources Study, GPO Box 787, Canberra ACT2601, Australia. 2004. Pp. 216. ISBN 0-642-56836-7. Retail

price Australian $55. Available from e-mail (abrs@deh.gov.au) or via links from www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/.

The Psylloidea (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha), commonlyknown as jumping plantlice and lerp insects, comprisesover 3000 species in 235 recognized genera distributed

worldwide, but with greatest diversity in tropical andsouthern temperate regions. Many are monophagous orfeed on a few closely related hosts – highly desirable attri-

butes for coevolutionary studies and as potential biologicalcontrol agents, yet arguably under-utilized for either! Thelarvae of most species are free-living on their hosts, but

about 15% of the world fauna are gall-forming and some7% form distinctive protective coverings called lerps.Psylloids are often regarded as pests on a range of orna-

mentals, and many cause economic damage in horticultural

crops and forest plantations. Notable amongst the alarminglyregular accidental introductions of Australian psylloids, par-ticularly into South America and southern USA, are redgum

lerp psyllid (Glycaspis brimblecombei), spotted gum psyllid(Eucalyptolyma maideni), lemongum lerp psyllid(Cryptoneossa triangula), bluegum psyllid (Ctenarytaina

eucalypti), eucalyptus shoot psyllid (Blastopsylla occidentalis),eugenia psyllid (Trioza eugeniae) and acacia psyllids (Acizziaacaciaebaileyanae and A. uncatoides). Some of these have been

the target of successful biological control programmes, espe-cially in California, with the introduction of Psyllaephagusbliteus, P. pilosus and Tamarixia sp. from Australia.The uniqueness of the Australian psylloid fauna is exem-

plified by the radiation of the spondyliaspidine genera on theplant family Myrtaceae, of which a prominent componentforms lerps, a behaviour little represented elsewhere in the

world fauna. In Australia, many of these lerp insects char-acteristically undergo periodic massive outbreaks in popula-tion, resulting in host stress, sometimes with economic

damage, but more often with ‘unsightly’ leaf discolorationand leaf abscission that incites a short-lived flurry of protestletters to the local press outlining concerns for ‘the lerpproblem’. Ecologically, however, they are the fundamentals

of life. They are hosts to scores of parasitoids and hyperpar-asitoids, and prey to coccinelids, syrphids and spiders.Notably, colonies of psyllids or aggregations of lerp insects

attract ants through the secretion of sugary honeydew. Moresubtly though, countless other insects can be seen utilizingthis resource. At certain times of the day, the careful observer

will note flies and wasps sipping honeydew from the rim of

lerps – a valuable alternative to nectar. Higher organisms also

rely on lerps and lerp insects as food. Without a healthycomplement of herbivores, an exotic ornamental appearsecologically sterile, but a gnarled eucalypt, disfigured by the

ravages of several hundred years of psyllid outbreaks, will bealive with foraging thornbills, honeyeaters, weebills, flycatch-ers and pardalotes! Psyllids are ‘farmed’ by Bell Miners, and

were considered a delicacy byAboriginals who collected themas a food source.

The Australian Psylloidea has received a long, yet punc-tuated, attention in the literature. The first Australian species

was described in 1851, but it was not until W. W. Frogatt(Froggatt, 1900, 1901, 1903) and L. D. Tuthill andK. L. Taylor (Tuthill & Taylor, 1955), and then a series of

papers by K. M. Moore describing myrtaceous feedingGlycaspis (some 150 or so species) from 1961 to 1990 andK. L. Taylor’s contribution to a number of spondyliaspidine

genera from 1962 to 1997, that significant taxonomic pro-gress was achieved. At the regional level, the first significantadvances in the taxonomy of the Australian psylloid faunawere made by Froggatt (Froggatt, 1900, 1901, 1903, 1923).

A quantum leap was made with the major generic revisionundertaken by Tuthill & Taylor (1955), and another byF. DavidMorgan (Morgan, 1984). The latter, whilst targeting

the psylloid fauna of South Australia, more than adequatelycovered most of southern temperate Australia, but not thetropical and northern element of the Australian fauna.

David Hollis, retired, now Honorary Research Associatefrom the Natural History Museum, London, and arguablythe world’s leading authority on the Psylloidea, was

eminently qualified to tackle the Australian BiologicalResources Study (ABRS)-funded project to document theAustralian psylloid fauna. David’s mission led him and hiswife, Jean, to visit the Australian National Insect

Collection in Canberra, all major museums and regionalagricultural and quarantine collections over the course oftwo extended visits to Australia in 2001 and 2002.

The resultant checklist, with host association data and acomprehensive reference list to the Australian Psylloidea,was first published online at www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/

abrs/online-resources/fauna/afd/ in 2002. This ultimatelyled to review chapters outlining the biology, collectionand preservation and to the development of illustratedkeys that, together with information presented on the

above-mentioned website, form the basis of this book.Australian Psylloidea presents as a conveniently sized,

ring-bound manual. At first glance, this format seems a

little puzzling, but the publication clearly is designed as alaboratory tool – the pages sit flat as one works throughthe keys without the necessity to prop the book open at the

appropriate page with pencils and other makeshift devices.

Systematic Entomology (2006), 31, 199–200 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3113.2005.00315.x

# 2006 The Royal Entomological Society 199

The second deviation from the standard format is the

choice of text colour: green for general text and brown forgeneric names in the key, generic titles in the systematicssection, text in figures and figure captions. One observer

commented that it presented some difficulty in reading, butif one is required to count the number of antennal rhinariaor assess the setation of the male paramere even undermagnification, one should not have problems with the

text. There were a few typographical errors, with someinconsistent spelling of Casuarinaceae for example, mis-spelling of a name in the acknowledgements and an incor-

rect affiliation name for a photographic contributor. Inaddition, a host record (for Boreioglycaspis melaleucae ascited by Purcell et al., 1997) was omitted from the host

record associations, suggesting that there may be other,but hopefully few, oversights. It was pleasing though, fol-lowing some close scrutiny, that no misspelling of any of

the psylloid names was detected!The book is prefaced by a colour-enhanced reproduction

of Froggatt’s (1923) plate of spondyliaspidine lerps and ele-ven colour plates of Australian psylloids, although modesty

precludes any comment on the quality of the latter! Theintroduction documents the history of research into theAustralian Psylloidea, with an emphasis on taxonomy, and

provides a brief introduction to their biology. The chapter onbiology reviews sex and reproduction, eggs and oviposition,larvae, lerps and galls, dispersal, food and feeding, natural

enemies and host plants and distribution. Each subheadingemphasizes the Australian literature, but other work isreferred to in order to provide information where gaps exist,

and to compare aspects of the Australian psylloids with theworld fauna. Two tables are provided, one with host associa-tions for primary parasitoids and hyperparasitoids and theirpsylloid hosts, and the second documenting larval life styles,

host families and world regional distribution at the genericlevel. A short chapter on economic significance mentionsexamples in which feeding causes economic loss through

leaf deformation or senescence, psylloids as disease vectorsand psylloids as biological control agents, and documents theAustralian psylloids that have been introduced elsewhere.

The taxonomic sections commence with a chapter oncollection and preservation, including slide preparation,and one on key characters, which outlines and illustratesthe useful taxonomic characters. The following chapter,

‘Key to Australian Genera of Psylloidea’, is presented asan illustrated key with characters arrowed on each facingpage. The systematics chapter comprises the bulk of the

book, essentially a monograph of the species. Each sectionis headed by the family name, followed by a brief synopsisof the world and Australian fauna. The comprising genera

follow alphabetically, each with type data, extralimital dis-tribution and generic references. Within each species listedare the type data, distribution, ecology and references.

A very useful section, ‘Host–Psylloidea Associations’, ofsome twenty pages follows, which lists species of Psylloideawith species of plant hosts, together with reference and psylloidfamily. The book concludes with the references, almost 300 in

all and spanning some 150 years, Appendix I: Museums,

abbreviations, Appendix II: Copyright, Acknowledgements,

a subject index that includes host plants and a separate indexfor psylloid names.David Hollis has raised the number of Australian repre-

sentatives to 354 described species (plus a further twenty-one unidentified species) in fifty-eight genera. The previousaccount, Morgan (1984), included a checklist of 228 speciesfrom twenty-six genera. The psylloid fauna of Australia

now comprises over 10% of the world fauna, with speciesrepresenting all six of the currently recognized families.Most Australian psylloids (93%) belong to the family

Psyllidae, due largely to the massive radiation of the dis-tinctly Australian Spondyliaspidinae associated with theMyrtaceae. Even so, there are considerable gaps, particu-

larly as the tropical fauna becomes better known, and giventhat the majority of the taxonomically daunting radiationof the Acizziinae has yet to be documented.

This book by David Hollis represents yet another quan-tum leap in our knowledge of the Australian Psylloidea. Itwill be the reference manual for all future work on theAustralian psylloid fauna, not only for future taxonomists,

but for researchers in biodiversity and coevolutionary stud-ies. It will be particularly valuable for horticulturalists, pestmanagers and quarantine officers seeking a reliable identi-

fication manual, self-evident for Australian workers butalso overseas with the regrettably ever-increasing likelihoodof accidental introductions and quarantine interceptions.

To date, most workers have terminated their identificationsat the superfamily level, the functional group ‘psyllids’ (sic).This manual, with its useful diagrammatic keys, will aid

those with a modicum of perseverence to gain identifica-tions at the generic level in a group that often has beenperceived as taxonomically challenging.

GARY TAYLOR

The University of Adelaide (Waite Campus),

South Australia, Australia

References

Froggatt, W.W. (1900) Australian Psyllidae. Proceedings of the

Linnean Society of New South Wales, 25, 250–302.

Froggatt, W.W. (1901) Australian Psyllidae. Part II. Proceedings of

the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 26, 242–298.

Froggatt, W.W. (1903) Australian Psyllidae. Part III. Proceedings

of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 28, 315–337.

Froggatt, W.W. (1923) Forest Insects of Australia. Forestry

Commissioners of New South Wales, Government Printer,

Sydney.

Morgan, F.D. (1984) Psylloidea of South Australia. Government

Printer, Adelaide, South Australia.

Purcell, M.F., Balcuinas, J.K. & Jones, P. (1997) Biology and host-

range of Boreioglycaspis melaleucae (Hemiptera: Psyllidae),

potential biological control agent for Melaleuca quinquenervia

(Myrtaceae). Environmental Entomology, 26, 366–372.

Tuthill, L.D. & Taylor, K.L. (1955) Australian genera of the

Family Psyllidae (Hemiptera, Homoptera). Australian Journal

of Zoology, 3, 227–257.

200 Book review

# 2006 The Royal Entomological Society, Systematic Entomology, 31, 199–200