Karyotypes, B-chromosomes and meiotic abnormalities in 13 populations of Alebra albostriella and A. wahlbergi (Hemiptera, Auchenorrhyncha, Cicadellidae) from Greece

In this work 13 populations of the leafhopper species Alebra albostriella (Fallén, 1826) (6 populations) and A. wahlbergi (Boheman, 1845) (7 populations) (Cicadellidae: Typhlocybinae) from Greece were studied cytogenetically. We examined chromosomal complements and meiosis in 41 males of A. albostriella sampled from Castanea sativa, Fagus sylvatica and Quercus cerris and in 21 males of A. wahlbergi sampled from C. sativa, Acer opalus and Ulmus sp. The species were shown to share 2n = 22 + X(0) and male meiosis of the chiasmate preductional type typical for Auchenorrhyncha. In all populations of A. albostriella and in all but two populations of A. wahlbergi B chromosomes and/or different meiotic abnormalities including the end-to-end non-homologous chromosomal associations, translocation chains, univalents, anaphasic laggards besides aberrant sperms were encountered. This study represents the first chromosomal record for the genus Alebra and one of the few population-cytogenetic studies in the Auchenorrhyncha.