Planthoppers, Ormenoides venusta (Melichar), Anormenis septentrionalis (Spinola)

Leininger, T.D; Solomon, J.D.; Wilson, A. Dan; Schiff, N.M. 1999. A Guide to Major Insects, Diseases, Air Pollution Injury, and Chemical Injury of Sycamore. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-28. Asheville, NC: USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 44 p.

Importance.-Planthoppers feed on sycamore and many other species throughout the Eastern United States and as far West as Texas and Arizona. Their sap feeding and oviposition injuries sometimes cause serious damage to seedlings and the terminals of older plants.

Identifying the Insects (fig. 12a).-Adults are snow white to pale green and have large prominent wings held at an acute, rooflike angle over the body. They range from 6 to 12 mm long. Nymphs are white or greenish, wingless, slightly flattened with abdomen curved slightly upward, and are partially covered with filaments of white, wool-like wax.

Figure 12a. - Planthoppers adults feeding on a young stem.

Identifying the Injury (fig. 12b).-Sap feeding by large populations may cause succulent shoots to wilt and grow more slowly but seldom causes dieback. However, large clusters of oviposition punctures along the stems may cause seedling mortality as well as terminal dieback in older plants. Young seedlings planted adjacent to natural stands are most prone to injury.

Biology.-Eggs overwinter inside twigs of host plants and hatch in the spring. The nymphs feed in clusters on succulent shoots. Adults begin appearing in June and are present until fall. Females deposit their eggs in short slits in the bark of the current year’s growth. There is one generation per year.

Figure 12b. - A young sycamore terminal killed by punctures of egg-laying adults.

Control.-Shoots containing clusters of oviposition punctures can be pruned and destroyed in fall and winter, although natural enemies keep most populations in check.