Item

Abstract

The pretarsal arolium serves as an
attachment device in many groups of insects, enabling
them to walk efficiently on smooth surfaces, where
claws alone do not provide sufficient foothold. The arolia
of representatives of all major lineages of Auchenorrhyncha
are described and illustrated, mainly using
scanning electron microscopy and histology. Glands
inside the lumen of the arolia are described for the first
time in this group. It is shown that the morphology of
arolia within Auchenorrhyncha differs considerably.
Some of them are even distinctly bilobed. The cuticle of
the contact zone is thickened and formed of branching
chitinous rods. In some cases, two layers of rods oriented in different directions were found.