Two recent papers shed light on the genus Neoaliturus Distant, 1918. In 2021, T.Y. Tishechkin reviewed the taxonomy of the Neoaliturus fenestratus group, describing several new species from Russia, Kazakhstan and Central Asia. In 2025, G. Sinaiko and C.H. Dietrich published an integrative revision of the Neoaliturus tenellus group, describing new species and elevating two subspecies from the Mediterranean region to the species level.Neoaliturus fenestratus species groupThe Neoaliturus fenestratus species group from Russia, Kazakhstan and Central Asia was reviewed in 2021 by D.Y. Tishechkin. In the study area, eight species were identified based on acoustic and morphological characteristics. Besides the two new species of Neoaliturus for the West Palearctic region, D.Y. Tishechkin cleared up the taxonomic identity of Neoaliturus guttulatus, which could be widespread in large parts of Europe, although its true distribution area remains unknown to date.New species from the Western Palearctic:Neoaliturus albilacustris Tishechkin, 2021 - Bulgaria, Ukraine, Russia (new species)Neoaliturus translucens Tishechkin, 2021 - Iran (new species)Neoaliturus tenellus species groupThe Beet leafhopper (Neoaliturus tenellus) was originally described from North America, although the species is native to the Mediterranean region. Several strikingly similar species, which are closely related to Neoaliturus tenellus have been described in the past. In 2025, G. Sinaiko and C.H. Dietrich unravelled the taxonomy of the Neoaliturus tenellus group, which resulted in two species being elevated to species level and the description of three new species. Likely, a close study of Neoaliturus tenellus specimens in the Mediterranean area will expand the distribution range of all species whose identity has been cleared now.New species and species with new status from the Western Palearctic:Neoaliturus acuminatus Sinaiko & Dietrich, 2025 - Israel (new species)Neoaliturus ambiguosus (Young & Frazier, 1954)- Israel, Palestine, Spain (new status)Neoaliturus infirmus (Young & Frazier, 1954) - Algeria, Israel, Libya, Palestine (new status)Neoaliturus ozitalia Sinaiko & Dietrich, 2025 - Israel (new species)Neoaliturus robustostylus Sinaiko & Dietrich, 2025 - Israel, Palestine (new species) ReferencesSinaiko, G. & Dietrich, C.H. (2025). Untangling the Beet Leafhopper (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) species complex: a case study in integrative taxonomy. Insect Systematics and Diversity 9(3): 32 pp.Tishechkin, T.Y. (2021). Review of the Neoaliturus fenestratus (Herrich-Schäffer, 1834) species group (Homoptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae: Opsiini) from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Central Asia. Zootaxa 5039(2): 201-221.Tishechkin, D.Y. (2022). New and interesting records of Auchenorrhyncha (Homoptera) in European Russia. Russian Entomological Journal 31(3): 234-248. 

Since 2020, photos of a strange Macropsini species have been uploaded to the citizen science platform Waarneming.nl. Finally, in 2023, specimens were collected and could be linked to a host plant: walnut Juglans regia. The species was tentatively identified as Pediopsoides sharmai, which was later confirmed by the author of that species, C.A. Viraktamath. The leafhopper Pediopsoides sharmai was described by C.A. Viraktamath in 1981 from northern India. The type specimens, 2 males, were collected from a light trap, and thus no ecological information was available at the time of description. Since 1981, the species has never been seen again. This changed on the 9th of July 2020, when the Dutch citizen scientist K. Boele photographed and collected a strange Macropsini from a light trap in his garden. The female specimen was sent to Dutch Auchenorrhyncha expert M. de Haas. A quick literature study on European Macropsini failed to get a name for the specimen, and the specimen remained unnamed in the collection. This changed in 2023, when the study of photos of Auchenorrhyncha on citizen science portals from the Netherlands and Belgium resulted in several observations of the strange Macropsini species from both countries. Since all observations were made on light traps or artificial structures, there was no knowledge of a potential host plant and collecting efforts in areas where specimens were photographed all failed. After a study on global literature on Macropsini, the single collected could finally be identified as belonging to Pediopsoides, the striking colouration resembled Pediopsoides sharmai. Shortly after this tentative identification, specimens were photographed on Juglans regia and targeted sweeping of Juglans in central and southern parts of the Netherlands easily resulted in many specimens. The final identification was done by C.A. Viraktamath based on specimens sent to him and comparison with the holotype. In 2024, the species was once found in Germany, very close to the Dutch border. Surprisingly, a population was found in Dornbirn (Austria) during the 30th Central European Auchenorrhyncha Meeting. In September, specimens were collected south of the Alps in Graz. It is noteworthy that there is a large gap between the observations from the Netherlands/Belgium and Austria. It is unknown if this is the result of a collecting bias or if several disjunct populations of this species are present in Europe.ReferencesDe Haas, M.C., Den Bieman, C.F.M., Viraktamath, C.A., Lind, E., Kunz, G. & Holzinger, W.E. 2024. The Indian leafhopper Pediopsoides sharmai discovered in Europe (Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadellidae: Eurymelinae: Macropsini). Entomologische Berichten 84(6): 235-241.Viraktamath, C.A. 1981. Indian Macropsinae (Homoptera: Cicadellidae). II. Species described by W.L. Distant and descriptions of new species from the Indian subcontinent. Entomologica Scandinavica 12: 295-310.

In the summer of 2021, the species Draeculacephala robinsoni was found in France and Spain. This is the first record of the North-American genus Draeculacephala in Europe. Draeculacephala robinsoni is easily distinguishable from all other European Cicadellinae, the combination of the pointed head and green coloration is not found in any other European Cicadellinae. Rösch et al. 2022 discuss the identification and some taxonomic issues related to this species and the genus as a whole. The species is found in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. Here, the species is found along riverbeds and wetlands. Adults and nymphs were present from late May to late October. Like all Cicadellinae, Draeculacephala species are xylem feeders, which are known as vectors of Xylella fastidiosa, this makes the species a potential pest for vineyards, orchards, etc.ReferencesRösch, V., Marques, E., Miralles-Núñez, A., Zahniser, J. N. & Wilson, M. R. 2022. Draeculacephala robinsoni Hamilton, 1967 (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadellidae), a newly introduced species and genus in Europe with comments on its identification. Zootaxa 5116(3): 439-448.

In 2021, seven new species of Auchenorrhyncha were described from the Western Palearctic. Not surprisingly, all the new species were described from the southern and eastern parts of the WP. Those parts of the WP are in general species-rich and less studied compared to northern and (north)western parts of the WP.New species of DoraturaTwo new species, Doratura butzele and Doratura rikele, are described by Guglielmino & Bückle (2021). Both species are described from Italy, but Doratura butzele also occurs in Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro. Slovenian auchenorrhynchologist Gabrijel Seljak provided photos of Doratura butzele for this website, which can be found on the species page.Two new species from TurkeyTwo species, Balcanocerus stellatus and Aphrophora geruzei were described from Turkey in 2021. In their publication, Özgen and Gnezdilov (2021) also provide a key to the Palearctic species of the genus Balcanocerus.The first cavernicolous kinnarid for the WPA very interesting new species is the Kinnarid Valenciolenda fadaforesta from Spain. Not only is this just the third Kinnaridae species known from the WP, it also is the very first kinnarid from mainland Europe and the first cavernicolous kinnarid in the WP. The family Kinnaridae is worldwide only represented by approximately 115 species, and this new species is only the seventh cavernicolous species known to science.Two species named after local entomologistsThe final two species are named after entomologists who work(ed) in the area where the species occur or who collected the type specimens.  Cixius wollastoni, described from the Madeira Island Santana, is named after Thomas H. Wollaston, an entomologist who worked on the entomological fauna of Madeira and collected Auchenorrhyncha. The species Platymetopius scalercioi, which is described from southern and central Italy, is named after the entomologist Stefano Scalercio, who collected the type specimens.ReferencesFreitas, É. & D. Aguín-Pombo 2021. Taxonomy of the Cixiidae (Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha) from the Madeira archipelago. European Journal of Taxonomy 744: 1-37.Guglielmino, A. & Ch. Bückle 2021. Two new species of the genus Doratura Sahlberg (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae) from the Mediterranean Region. Israel Journal of Entomology 51: 77-84.Hoch, H., A. Sendra, S. Montagud, S. Teruel & R.L. Ferreira 2021. First record of a cavernicolous Kinnaridae from the Old World (Hemiptera, Auchenorrhyncha, Fulgoromorpha, Kinnaridae, Adolendini) provides testimony of an ancient fauna. Subterranean Biology 37: 1-26.Özgen, I & V.M. Gnezdilov, 2021. A new species of Balcanocerus Maldonado-Capriles (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadellidae: Eurymelinae) from Eastern Anatolia, with a key to Palaearctic species and new records. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 123(3): 529-537.Poggi, F., Manti, F. & Castiglione, E. 2021. A new species of the leafhopper genus Platymetopius Burmeister, 1838 (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Deltocephalinae) from southern Italy. Rivista del Museo Civico di Scienze Naturali “Enrico Caffi”, Bergamo, 24: 19-23.Tanyeri, R. & Ü. Zeybekoğlu 2021. A new species of the genus Aphrophora Germar (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Aphrophoridae) from Turkey. Entomological News 130(1): 70-78. 

In a recent publication, a new genus and species has been described from the Northern District in Israel. The new genus belongs to the tribe Paralimnini and it's name refers to the presence of the paraphysis.ReferenceSinaiko, G. & Dietrich, C. H. 2020. A new genus and species of Paralimnini leafhoppers from Israel (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae), Zootaxa 4790(2): 387-392.

In 2018, the 25th Central European Auchenorrhyncha meeting was held in The Netherlands. During the meeting, several excursions were undertaken to typical Dutch landscapes, including some newly created nature reserves.During the excursions, 115 Auchenorrhyncha species were collected, which is more than 25% of the Dutch Auchenorrhyncha fauna. Several interesting species, like Kelisia monoceros, Stroggylocephalus agrestis, Edwardsiana diversa and Ophiola russeola, were collected on new locations.Three species were recorded for the first time or not yet published for the Netherlands. Macrosteles spinosus was described in 2013 and not yet recorded in the Netherlands. Kybos abstrusus was already collected in 2017, but at that time the identity remained unsure. During the meeting, additional specimens were collected which confirmed the identification as Kybos abstrusus. Macrosteles sardus was collected on several locations in 2018, during the meeting this species was recorded on an additional location.Currently, the Dutch Auchenorrhyncha fauna consists of 432 species. Each year, 5-10 additional species are published as new for the Dutch fauna. A complete overview of publications about Dutch Auchenorrhyncha can be found here.ReferencesVan Klink R, Den Bieman K, Funke L, De Haas M, Helbing F, Herwig S, Huber E, Malenovský I, Nickel H,  Niedringhaus R, Poniatowski D, Rösch V, Seyen F & Witsack W 2019.  Auchenorrhyncha and Psylloidea collected during the 25th Central European Auchenorrhyncha meeting, Arnhem, The Netherlands (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha and Psylloidea).  Cicadina 18: 43-58.