Evolutionary transformations of abdominal wax-plates in the larvae of the Fulgoroidea (Homoptera,Cicadina)

The main patterns of wax-plates in the nymphs of Fulgoroidea are reviewed in the ontogenetic and phylogenetic aspects. A hypothesis of the common origin of the sensory pits and wax glands of the Fulgoroidea is proposed. The morphological coordination of the sensory pits and wax-glands is discovered. Each elementary waxplate (wax plaque) is derived from a solitary wax gland, which is associated with a definite sensory pit of the ground plan and regulated by a stable ontogenetic program. Each subsequent instar is characterized by appearance of one additional sensory pit and one elementary wax-plate, arising from one primary wax gland.