Associations of Large Homoptera (Fulgoridae and Cicadidae) and Trees in a Tropical Forest

To determine tree preferences of tropical homopterans, the lower trunks of all trees 20 cm dbh or greater were surveyed in 26.72 ha of semideciduous lowland forest in Panama during the wet season. Trees with adult Homoptera or nymphal exuviae were compared with trees available for choice. In the Cicadidae we found 243 adults and 81 exuviae of Fidicina mannifera, and in the Fulgoridae we found 63 Enchophora longirostris, 19 Phrictus quinquepartitus, 2 Diareusa conspersa, and 1 Fulgora. Disproportionate numbers of the cicadas (52%) were on 33 Zanthoxylum belizense (Rutaceae) and another 10% were on Z. panamense. The 81 exuviae were not associated with Zanthoxylum, and instead occurred on a diverse array of trees. Of the Enchophora, 71% were found on 26 Simarouba amara trees (Simaroubaceae). All but three of the 19 Phrictus rested in parallel arrays on two Terminalia oblonga (Combretaceae). The trees listed above are uncommon in the surveyed plot, ranging in rank order of abundance from 15th (1.95% of the trees) to 41st (0.45%). The results indicate, therefore, that Homoptera can be highly selective of tree species even in a diverse forest, where the low probability of encountering a given kind of tree might be thought to select against host tree specialization.