The name planthopper is used to refer to any insect in the infraorder Fulgoromorpha within the Hemiptera. Distributed worldwide, all members of this group are plant-feeders, though surprisingly few are considered pests. The infraorder contains only a single superfamily, Fulgoroidea. Fulgoroids are most reliably distinguished from the other members of the classical "Homoptera" by two features; the bifurcate ("Y"-shaped) anal vein in the forewing, and the thickened, three-segmented antennae, with a generally round or egg-shaped third segment that bears a fine filamentous arista.

Classification

As mentioned under Auchenorrhyncha, some authors use the name Archaeorrhyncha as a replacement for the Fulgoromorpha.

The extant families of Fulgoroidea are:

• Acanaloniidae
• Achilidae
• Achilixiidae
• Cixiidae
• Delphacidae
• Derbidae
• Dictyopharidae
• Eurybrachyidae (= Eurybrachidae)
• Flatidae
• Fulgoridae
• Gengidae
• Hypochthonellidae
• Issidae (includes Caliscelidae)
• Kinnaridae
• Lophopidae
• Meenoplidae
• Nogodinidae
• Ricaniidae
• Tettigometridae
• Tropiduchidae

Image:Metcalfa_pruinosa_adultes.jpg|Metcalfa pruinosa (Flatidae) Image:Perho.jpg|Fulgoridae Image:Epiptera europea.jpg|nymphal Dictyopharidae?

Hemiptera

Fulgoroidea