''Amrasca biguttula'', commonly known as the cotton jassid, is a subspecies of

leafhopper A leafhopper is the common name for any species from the family Cicadellidae. These minute insects, colloquially known as hoppers, are plant feeders that suck plant sap from grass, shrubs, or trees. Their hind legs are modified for jumping, and a ...

belonging to the subfamily

Typhlocybinae Typhlocybinae is a subfamily of insects in the leafhopper family, Cicadellidae. This is currently the second largest leafhopper subfamily based on the number of described species, but researchers believe there are so many taxa yet undescribed th ...

of family Cicadellidae. It is a

pest Pest or The Pest may refer to: Science and medicine * Pest (organism), an animal or plant deemed to be detrimental to humans or human concerns ** Weed, a plant considered undesirable * Infectious disease, an illness resulting from an infection ** ...

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

, okra, and other crops in southern Asia and West Africa.

Description

The adult cotton jassid is a long and slender insect about in length. It is yellowish-green, with a conspicuous black spot on either side of the head and another near the tip of the fore wing. The head is pale green and the membranous wings transparent and iridescent. On leaf surfaces, the insect tends to move about diagonally, and when disturbed it immediately jumps and flies away.

Life cycle

Leafhoppers undergo direct development from

nymph A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ty ...

to adult without undergoing

metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some inse ...

. On okra, eggs are mainly oviposited inside the tissue of leaf blades, but may also be laid in leaf stalks or in soft twigs. The eggs hatch in six or seven days. There are five nymphal

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ass ...

s, developing over a period of about seven days. Nymphs are wingless. Total lifespan is about one month, with females living a little longer than males. The fecundity of females is about fifteen eggs. Adults are attracted to light, females more than males.

Ecology

Leafhoppers have mouthparts designed for piercing and sucking, enabling them to feed on plant

sap Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separa ...

. In India, this jassid feeds on sap from a wide range of plants including

, okra,

eggplant Eggplant ( US, Canada), aubergine ( UK, Ireland) or brinjal (Indian subcontinent, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible fruit. Mos ...

, ''

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis ''Hibiscus rosa-sinensis'', known colloquially as Chinese hibiscus, China rose, Hawaiian hibiscus, rose mallow and shoeblack plant, is a species of tropical hibiscus, a flowering plant in the Hibisceae Tribe (biology), tribe of the family (biol ...

'', and

sunflower The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a large annual forb of the genus ''Helianthus'' grown as a crop for its edible oily seeds. Apart from cooking oil production, it is also used as livestock forage (as a meal or a silage plant), as ...

throughout the year, and on

pigeon pea The pigeon pea (''Cajanus cajan'') is a perennial legume from the family Fabaceae native to the Old World. The pigeon pea is widely cultivated in tropical and semitropical regions around the world, being commonly consumed in South Asia, Southeas ...

and

cowpea The cowpea (''Vigna unguiculata'') is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus ''Vigna''. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few input ...

during the

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

season. In Burkina Faso, this jassid attacks cotton, okra, eggplant and hibiscus during the rainy season. It also occurs on various

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

es, including lawns of Bermuda grass.

Damage

Heavy infestations on cotton, okra, and sunflower make the leaves turn yellow, curl up and fall off. The insects also secrete honeydew, and sooty mould often grows on this, restricting the amount of light reaching the plant's

photosynthetic Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored in c ...

surfaces and reducing the yield. In many areas, this pest regularly occurs on cotton in epidemic numbers. A number of natural enemies help to control populations including

ladybirds Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles ranging in size from . They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in Great Britain. Some entomologists prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles as they ...

, predatory lygaeid bugs, and several species of mantis.

Neem oil Neem oil, also known as margosa oil, is a vegetable oil pressed from the fruits and seeds of the neem (''Azadirachta indica''), a tree which is indigenous to the Indian subcontinent and has been introduced to many other areas in the tropics. It i ...

can be used as a biopesticide.

Control

On cotton, it has been found that growing a cultivar with hairs on the undersides of the leaves reduces infestation, and that long hairs are better at deterring the insect from laying than are short hairs; this seems to be due to the hairs preventing the insect from getting close enough to the leaf surface to deposit its eggs.

Entomophthoraceae Entomophthoraceae is a family of fungi in the order Entomophthorales The Entomophthorales are an order of fungi that were previously classified in the class Zygomycetes. A new subdivision, Entomophthoromycotina, has recently been circumscri ...

fungus ''Batkoa amrascae'' is known to infect (and also kill) the cotton leafhopper, ''Amrasca biguttula'' in the Philippines.Philippine Association of Entomologists

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10409298 Empoascini Insects described in 1912 Hemiptera of Asia