Welcome to Indian Leafhoppers and their relatives (Membracoidea)

    The Membracoidea (leaf and treehoppers) form a significant part of the Indian fauna. They appear in four volumes (vols 3, 4, 6 and 7 --1906, 1907-8, 1916 and 1918 respectively) of the famous Fauna of British India by W.L. Distant. This work still remains the only complete study on the group from the Indian subcontinent.
    In addition to India, the area covered in the Fauna included Burma and Sri Lanka. Subsequent taxonomic work has concentrated on the largest group, the Cicadellidae, with a significant number of papers by Chandra Viraktamath (Bangalore University).
    This website will include information on all the valid species including their synonyms and type material, for which nearly all of Distant’s many species are to be found in the BMNH, London.