Proceedings of the United States National Museum SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION • WASHINGTON, D.C. Volume 122 1967 Number 3581 CLASSIFICATION OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE BALCLUTHA (HOMOPTERA: CICADELLIDAE)i By H. Derrick Blocker -The genus Balclutha is cosmopolitan in distribution. This paper treats 36 taxa found in the Western Hemisphere including 2 which are given new status, 4 in new combinations, and 15 new to science. Although specimens of Balclutha are commonly collected in niunbers in grassy areas, some taxa are based on single specimens or very short series. The genus is placed in the subfamily Deltocephalinae. It is considered a member of the tribe Balcluthini by Oman (1949) but is placed in Macros telini by Linnavuori (1959); the former tribal designation is followed here. There have been few taxonomic works restricted to this tribe and these have included only a portion of the Western Hemisphere. This geographical restriction and the wide distribution of certain taxa have resulted in some confusion as to the identity of a number of species and subspecies. Ecological and bio-logical data published on Balcluthini are infrequent. The host plants are usually considered to be grasses and sedges. In this study, the internal male genitalia were dissected using tech-niques described by Oman (1949) and Young (1952). Illustrations * Contribution from the Entomology Department, North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station, Raleigh, N.C. Published with the approval of the Director of Research as Paper No. 2171 of the Journal Series. 2 Department of Entomology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kans. 1
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