Morphometric variations in Nephotettix virescens and N. nigropictus (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) in three rice growing countries of South East Asia

Morphometric studies were made on the field collected rice green leafhoppers (GLH), viz., Nephoteffix virescens Distant and N. nigropictus Stai, at Kalyani, West Bengal (India) with respect to the crown, pygofer, sub-genital plate, aedeagus, basal plate and paramere. The genital characters of GLH from Kalyani (India) were compared with those from Bangladesh and the Philippines and variations noticed in all these characters. The populations from Bangladesh and Philippines also differed significantly with respect to number of aedeagal and sub-genital plate setae and length of the paramer indicating the existence of morphometric variation among the population of GLH in these three rice growing countries of South East Asia.