First record of the sugarcane froghoppers Mahanarva spectabilis (Distant) and Mahanarva liturata (Le Peletier & Serville) infesting sugarcane plantations in the region of Goianésia (GO), Brazil

Abstract

The young forms of the sugarcane froghopper suck the roots, and the adults suck the sap from leaves and inject toxins, thus causing necrosis in leaf tissues. The most cited species of sugarcane froghopper in scientific papers is Mahanarva fimbriolata. Adults of the froghopper were collected in sugarcane plant Jalles Machado, in Goianésia (GO). These have been put together, identified and deposited in the collection of Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS). Identification was conducted by the genitalia. We found there were Mahanarva spectabilis and Mahanarva liturata, consisting of the first record of this species of froghopper attacking sugarcane fields in Goianésia; in this place, only the species M. fimbriolata was considered to exist.