This book offers the first truly global synthesis of leafhopper morphology, phylogeny, and classification, integrating state-of-the-art phylogenomics absent from earlier works. It replaces outdated classifications with a modern, evidence-based framework, providing comprehensive diagnostic keys, updated tribal and subfamily concepts, and hundreds of new illustrations. Synthesizing over 30 years of research, this volume serves as both a reference work and an identification manual, placing taxonomic information within an integrated evolutionary and morphological context.
The chapters systematically synthesize morphological, molecular, and biogeographical data, establishing the most comprehensive taxonomic framework for leafhoppers to date. Readers will find contributions by renowned scholars, including expert analyses of revised taxonomic circumscriptions and interdisciplinary methodologies. The book provides step-by-step identification protocols and precise visual references, meeting practical needs across diverse research and applied contexts. It balances research depth with pedagogical utility, featuring a progressive content structure and detailed terminology explications.
This essential resource is designed for researchers, scholars, and students in entomology and related fields. It provides readers with an updated higher classification, diagnostic keys, illustrations, and a worldwide checklists of subfamilies and tribes, transforming the understanding of leafhopper evolution through modern phylogenomics and comparative analyses. Developed by leading experts, this authoritative volume sets a new benchmark for leafhopper taxonomy and classification. It is an indispensable tool for anyone seeking to understand the biodiversity, evolution, and ecological significance of this diverse and economically important group of insects.

Yalin Zhang

Professor Zhang is Director of the Entomological Institute and Museum at Northwest A&F University. He has worked on the systematics and biodiversity of Cicadellidae, Fulgoroidea, and related groups for more than 40 years, and is one of the leading authorities on these groups worldwide. He has led more than 50 research projects, including key international cooperation projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. He has made significant contributions to hemipteran systematics and biodiversity research, publishing more than 600 papers and over 10 monographs and textbooks in this field.

Christopher H. Dietrich

Dr. Dietrich is a Principal Research Scientist and Curator of Insects at the Illinois Natural History Survey and a member of the graduate faculty of the School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He has served as Illinois State Entomologist since 2013 and is a subject editor for Zootaxa, ZooKeys, and the European Journal of Taxonomy. He is one of the leading authorities on leafhoppers and treehoppers worldwide, with more than 40 years of research experience and over 300 refereed journal articles. His research focuses on insect systematics, integrative taxonomy, biodiversity, phylogenomics, evolution, molecular ecology, and conservation biology.

Michael D. (Mick) Webb

Mr. Webb spent his career as a curator at the Natural History Museum, London, working in the Hemiptera section, initially on Auchenorrhyncha. Over the years, his independent research and collaborations with mentors and visiting researchers resulted in numerous scientific publications, approximately 200 to date. Among his most productive academic collaborations were those with Dr. Yalin Zhang of Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China, and Professor Chandra A. Viraktamath of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, India.