author(s)
Sreejith K, Sebastian CD.

abstract
Leafhoppers of the family Cicadellidae are small wedge shaped insects widely distributed and many of its members are serious pests and vectors of diseases of many economic crops. These insects are distinguished morphologically by examining the colour, size, genital characters and also by examining the rows of small spines extending the length of hind tibia. Thaia subrufa (Motsch.) the orange headed leafhopper (OHLH) is one among them and is frequently found in the paddy field. The effective management of pest species cannot be undertaken without the accurate identification. Taxonomic literature dealing with the identification of these tiny insect is scattered in many journals and monographs published over for many years and found difficult to obtain. Molecular analyses using COI gene is evolving rapidly as part of taxonomy where accurate identification is possible examining the gene of the insect. Here in this study, partial segment of COI gene of sample was sequenced. The sequences were compared with those retrieved from NCBI system and the GenBank through BLASTn. The results showed that the COI sequence obtained in this study is a novel one and can facilitate the separation of the species. Sequence obtained in the study were submitted to the DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ) under the accession number LC005702. Based on the relationships between the study insect and the closely related one were clearly distinguished.