diff --git a/pxr/imaging/hd/renderIndex.cpp b/pxr/imaging/hd/renderIndex.cpp
index b2d80dd6e5..2014310c2d 100644
--- a/pxr/imaging/hd/renderIndex.cpp
+++ b/pxr/imaging/hd/renderIndex.cpp
@@ -1933,7 +1933,8 @@ HdRenderIndex::GetSceneDelegateAndInstancerIds(SdfPath const &id,
                     }
                 }
             } else {
-                return false;
+                // fallback value is the back-end emulation delegate
+                *delegateId = _siSd->GetDelegateID();
             }
         } else {
             *delegateId  = rprimInfo.sceneDelegate->GetDelegateID();