Checklist of UK Psylloidea

The Psylloidea (psyllids) or jumping plant lice are small plant-feeding insects that form the group called Sternorrhyncha together with aphids, phylloxerans, scale insects and whiteflies. They are one of the least studied and, in some ways, most interesting groups of UK Hemiptera.

Psyllids are generally small (around 2-3 mm), but with a good close up photo, a fair number can be reasonably easily identified. Ideally, both a side and a top view is neccesary and many species require at least external details of the genitalia for identification. Most species are strongly host-specific, meaning that the host plant is an essential part of the identification process (or at least a very helpful confirmatory character during the summer months). In Britain the majority of species are found on trees and shrubs, with relatively few species associated with herbaceous plants and none on grasses. There are some 80 species in the UK, but this figure is almost certainly higher.

This species list has been taken from: Hodkinson, I. D. & White, I. M. 1979. Homoptera: Psylloidea. Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects, vol. II, part 5 (a). Royal Entomological Society of London, London, 98 pp.
and the taxonomy revised according to: Ossiannilsson, F. 1992. The Psylloidea (Homoptera) of Fennoscandia and Denmark. Fauna Entomologica Scandinavia, vol. 26. E. J. Brill, Leiden, 347 pp.

This first publication is now out of print, but has recently been made available as a download from the RES website. Right click on the link below and choose 'save target as/link as' to download a pdf copy:

Hodkinson, I. D. & White, I. M. 1979. Homoptera: Psylloidea. Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects, vol. II, part 5 (a). Royal Entomological Society of London, London

Note that body colouring is often very variable within an individual and within species, with many species changing from green or yellow to red, brown and black over the course of several months. Wing venation and spinules, together with the genitalia and the genal cones, provide the best identification cues in many cases.

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Aphalara borealis
Aphalara exilis
Aphalara maculipennis
Aphalara pauli
Aphalara polygoni
Aphorma bagnalli
Arytaina genistae
Arytainilla spartiophila
Bactericera albiventris
Bactericera acutipennis
Bactericera crithmi
Bactericera curvatinervis
Bactericera salicivora
Baopelma foersteri
Cacopsylla affinis
Cacopsylla alaterni
Cacopsylla albipes
Cacopsylla ambigua
Cacopsylla bagnalli
Cacopsylla brunneipennis
Cacopsylla crataegi
Cacopsylla fatsiae
Cacopsylla fulguralis
Cacopsylla hippophaes
Cacopsylla mali
Cacopsylla melanoneura
Cacopsylla moscovita
Cacopsylla nigrita
Cacopsylla peregrina
Cacopsylla pruni
Cacopsylla pulchella
Cacopsylla pulchra
Cacopsylla pyri
Cacopsylla pyricola
Cacopsylla pyrisuga
Cacopsylla rhamnicola
Cacopsylla saliceti
Cacopsylla sorbi
Cacopsylla ulmi
Cacopsylla viburni
Cacopsylla visci
Cacopsylla zetterstedti
Calophya rhois
Chamaepsylla hartigii
Craspedolepta flavipennis
Craspedolepta malachitica
Craspedolepta nebulosa
Craspedolepta nervosa
Craspedolepta pilosa
Craspedolepta sonchi
Ctenarytaina eucalypii
Floria variegata
Homotoma ficus
Lauritrioza alacris
Livia crefeldensis
Livia juncorum
Livilla ulicis
Neocraspedolepta subpunctata
Psylla alni
Psylla betulae
Psylla buxi
Psyllopsis discrepans
Psyllopsis distinguenda
Psyllopsis fraxini
Pysllopsis fraxinicola
Rhinocola aceris
Spanioneura fonscolombii
Strophingia cinereae
Strophingia ericae
Trichochermes walkeri
Trioza abdominalis
Trioza apicalis
Trioza centranthi
Trioza chenopodii
Trioza flavipennis
Trioza galii
Trioza munda
Trioza proxima
Trioza remota
Trioza rhamni
Trioza urticae
Trioza vitreoradiata