Leafhoppers (Cicadellidae)

From: Ostry, Michael E.; Wilson, Louis F.; McNabb, Harold S., Jr.; Moore, Lincoln M. 1988. A guide to insect, disease, and animal pests of poplars. Agric. Handb. 677. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture. 118 p.

Importance- Leafhoppers feed by piercing plant tissues with their mouth parts and sucking the juices. Heavy feeding during hot, dry periods of the summer, when trees are in full foliage, can reduce vigor and growth. Several leafhoppers are known vectors of viruses that affect Populus.

Look For: Bullet-shaped leafhoppers up to one-half inch long--of various colors depending on the species. Young trees with unnatural leaf yellowing.

Injury of shoot ccaused by spotted poplar aphids.

Biology- Leafhoppers spend the winter as eggs, nymphs, and adults. Nymphs and adults overiwinter under debris in woodlands and along ditch banks. Eggs are laid in clusters between the upper and lower leaf surfaces.

Monitoring- Examine nurseries and plantation trees for leafhoppers from early spring to late summer. If some trees show yellowing from virus infection, consider control.

Control:

• Plant resistant clones.
• Remove debris from nurseries and plantations.
• Apply an insecticide recommended for leafhoppers.