Candy-striped Leafhopper Insect - Grant Peier

A leafhopper is the common name for any

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

from the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Cicadellidae. These minute

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s, colloquially known as hoppers, are plant feeders that suck

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 sepa ...

from grass, shrubs, or trees. Their hind legs are modified for jumping, and are covered with hairs that facilitate the spreading of a secretion over their bodies that acts as a water repellent and carrier of

pheromone A pheromone () is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the secreting individual, to affect the behavio ...

s. They undergo a partial

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 ...

, and have various host associations, varying from very generalized to very specific. Some species have a cosmopolitan distribution, or occur throughout the temperate and tropical regions. Some are pests or vectors of

plant virus Plant viruses are viruses that affect plants. Like all other viruses, plant viruses are obligate intracellular parasites that do not have the molecular machinery to replicate without a host. Plant viruses can be pathogenic to higher plants. M ...

es and

phytoplasma Phytoplasmas are obligate intracellular parasites of plant phloem tissue and of the insect vectors that are involved in their plant-to-plant transmission. Phytoplasmas were discovered in 1967 by Japanese scientists who termed them mycoplasma-lik ...

s. The family is distributed all over the world, and constitutes the second-largest hemipteran family, with at least 20,000 described species. They belong to a lineage traditionally treated as

infraorder Order ( la, ordo) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and ...

Cicadomorpha Cicadomorpha is an infraorder of the insect order Hemiptera which contains the cicadas, leafhoppers, treehoppers, and spittlebugs. There are approximately 35,000 described species worldwide. Distributed worldwide, all members of this group are p ...

in the

suborder Order ( la, ordo) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and ...

Auchenorrhyncha The Auchenorrhyncha suborder of the Hemiptera contains most of the familiar members of what was called the "Homoptera" – groups such as cicadas, leafhoppers, treehoppers, planthoppers, and spittlebugs. The aphids and scale insects are the ot ...

, but as the latter

taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

is probably not

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

, many modern authors prefer to abolish the Auchenorrhyncha and elevate the cicadomorphs to a suborder Clypeorrhyncha. Members of the

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

Proconiini The name sharpshooter is used to refer to any of various genera and species of large leafhoppers in the tribe Proconiini of the family leafhopper, Cicadellidae. As with all cicadellids, they have piercing-sucking mouthparts and closely spaced ro ...

of the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Cicadellinae CicadellinaeLatreille (1825) is a leafhopper subfamily in the family Cicadellidae. Selected genera * '' Bothrogonia'' * '' Cicadella'' * ''Cofana ''Cofana'' is a genus of leafhoppers belonging to the family Cicadellidae. ''Cofana'' speci ...

are commonly known as sharpshooters.

Description and ecology

The Cicadellidae combine the following features: * The thickened part of the

antenna Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to: Science and engineering * Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves * Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...

e is very short and ends with a bristle (arista). * Two

ocelli A simple eye (sometimes called a pigment pit) refers to a form of eye or an optical arrangement composed of a single lens and without an elaborate retina such as occurs in most vertebrates. In this sense "simple eye" is distinct from a multi-l ...

(simple eyes) are present on the top or front of the head. * The tarsi are made of three segments. * The femora are at front with, at most, weak spines. * The hind tibiae have one or more distinct keels, with a row of movable spines on each, sometimes on enlarged bases. * The base of the middle legs is close together where they originate under the

thorax The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, mammals, and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the cre ...

. * The front wings not particularly thickened. An additional and unique character of leafhoppers is the production of

brochosome Brochosomes are intricately structured microscopic granules secreted by leafhoppers (the family Cicadellidae of the insect order Hemiptera) and typically found on their body surface and, more rarely, eggs. Brochosomes were first described in 1 ...

s, which are thought to protect the animals, and particularly their egg

clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...

es, from predation as well as pathogens. Cicada0001

Like other

Exopterygota The Exopterygota (Ancient Greek ''ἔξω'' (éxō, “outside”) + ''πτερόν'' (pterón, “wing”) + New Latin ''-ota'' (“having”)), also known as Hemipterodea, are a superorder of insects of the subclass Pterygota in the infraclas ...

, the 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 a

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

l stage. While many leafhoppers are drab little insects as is typical for the

Membracoidea The superfamily Membracoidea of sap-sucking true-bugs includes two of the largest families within what used to be called the "Homoptera": the leafhoppers ( Cicadellidae) and the treehoppers ( Membracidae). The other families in this group are qu ...

, the adults and nymphs of some

are quite colorful. Some – in particular Stegelytrinae – have largely translucent wings and resemble

flies Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

at a casual glance. Leafhoppers have piercing-sucking mouthparts, enabling them to feed on

. A leafhoppers' diet commonly consists of sap from a wide and diverse range of plants, but some are more

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People *Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman * Michel Host ...

-specific. Leafhoppers mainly are

herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...

s, but some are known to eat smaller insects, such as

aphid Aphids are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white woolly aphids. A t ...

s, on occasion. A few species are known to be

mud-puddling Mud-puddling, or simply puddling, is a behaviour most conspicuous in butterflies, but occurs in other animals as well, mainly insects; they seek out nutrients in certain moist substances such as rotting plant matter, mud and carrion and they suck ...

, but as it seems, females rarely engage in such behavior. Many species are also known to opportunistically pierce the human skin and draw blood but the function of such behaviour is unclear. Leafhoppers can transmit

plant pathogen Plant pathology (also phytopathology) is the scientific study of diseases in plants caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, oomyc ...

s, such as

viruses A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's 1 ...

s and

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...

. Cicadellidae species that are significant agricultural pests include the

beet leafhopper The beet leafhopper (''Circulifer tenellus''), also sometimes known as ''Neoaliturus tenellus'', is a species of leafhopper which belongs to the family Cicadellidae in the order Hemiptera. Morphology A lot of morphological diversity has be ...

(''Circulifer tenellus''), the maize leafhopper (''

Cicadulina mbila ''Cicadulina mbila'', the maize leafhopper, is a leafhopper species in the genus '' Cicadulina''. It is found in sub-Saharan Africa (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda), the Middle East, West Asia and India. It is one of the vectors of the maize strea ...

''), potato leafhopper (''

Empoasca fabae ''Empoasca fabae'' belongs to family Cicadellidae and genus Empoasca within order Hemiptera.”Lamp, W., D., Miranda, L., Culler & Alexander, L. (2011) “Host Suitability and Gas Exchange Response of Grapevines to Potato Leafhopper (Hemiptera: ...

''), two-spotted leafhopper ('' Sophonia rufofascia''),

blue-green sharpshooter ''Graphocephala atropunctata'', commonly known as the blue-green sharpshooter, is a hemipteran bug endemism, endemic to California. It carries the phytopathogenic bacteria ''Xylella fastidiosa'' which infects the xylem of grape vines causing die- ...

(''

Graphocephala ''Graphocephala'' is a large genus of leafhoppers, found from southern Canada to northern South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small po ...

atropunctata''),

glassy-winged sharpshooter The glassy-winged sharpshooter (''Homalodisca vitripennis'', formerly known as ''H. coagulata'') is a large leafhopper (family Cicadellidae), similar to other species of sharpshooter. Description These sharpshooters are about in length. Thei ...

(''Homalodisca vitripennis''), the common brown leafhopper (''Orosius orientalis''), rice green leafhoppers (''

Nephotettix ''Nephotettix'' is a genus of planthoppers in the subfamily Deltocephalinae and tribe Chiasmini. Species are mostly found in Asia, although two are from Africa. Known as 'green leafhoppers' of paddy/rice, ''Nephotettix cincticeps'' and ''N. vi ...

'' spp.), and the white apple leafhopper ('' Typhlocyba pomaria''). The

(''Circulifer tenellus'') can transmit the beet curly top virus to various members of the

nightshade family The Solanaceae , or nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and orna ...

, including tobacco, tomato, or eggplant, and is a serious vector of the disease in

chili pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...

in the Southwestern United States. In some cases, the plant pathogens distributed by leafhoppers are also

pathogen In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ ...

s of the insects themselves, and can replicate within the leafhoppers'

salivary gland The salivary glands in mammals are exocrine glands that produce saliva through a system of ducts. Humans have three paired major salivary glands (parotid, submandibular, and sublingual), as well as hundreds of minor salivary glands. Salivary gla ...

s. Leafhoppers are also susceptible to various insect pathogens, including

Dicistroviridae ''Dicistroviridae'' is a family of viruses in the order ''Picornavirales''. Invertebrates, including aphids, leafhoppers, flies, bees, ants, and silkworms, serve as natural hosts. There are 15 species in this family, assigned to three genera. ...

, bacteria and

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

; numerous

parasitoid In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionarily stable str ...

s attack the eggs and the adults provide food for small

insectivore A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores wer ...

s. Some species such as the Australian ''Kahaono montana'' even build silk nests under the leaves of trees they live in, to protect them from predators.

Systematics

In the now-obsolete classification that was used throughout much of the 20th century, the leafhoppers were part of the Homoptera, a

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

assemblage uniting the basal lineages of

Hemiptera Hemiptera (; ) is an order (biology), order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, Reduviidae, assassin bugs, Cimex, bed bugs, and shield bugs. ...

and ranked as

. The splitting of the Homoptera is likely to be repeated for the

for similar reasons, as the Auchenorrhyncha simply seem to group the moderately advanced Hemiptera, regardless of the fact the highly

apomorph In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel character or character state that has evolved from its ancestral form (or plesiomorphy). A synapomorphy is an apomorphy shared by two or more taxa and is therefore hypothesized to have ...

Coleorrhyncha Coleorrhyncha or Peloridiomorpha, also known as moss bugs or beetle bugs, are a suborder of Hemiptera and represent an ancient lineage of moss-feeding insects. They show some similarities to the Heteroptera but have been considered distinct. It ha ...

and

Heteroptera The Heteroptera are a group of about 40,000 species of insects in the order Hemiptera. They are sometimes called "true bugs", though that name more commonly refers to the Hemiptera as a whole. "Typical bugs" might be used as a more unequivocal al ...

(typical bugs) evolved from auchenorrhynchans. Hence, a recent trend treats the most advanced hemipterans as three or four lineages, namely Archaeorrhyncha (Fulgoromorpha if included in Auchenorrhyncha), Coleorrhyncha and Heteroptera (sometimes united as

Prosorrhyncha The name Prosorrhyncha is a name (proposed by Sorensen et al. 1995) for a suborder of Hemiptera, comprising a grouping of the traditional taxon "Heteroptera" plus its sister taxon, the family Peloridiidae (often classified as a suborder itself). T ...

) and Clypeorrhyncha. Leaf hopper nymph coelidia spp

Within the latter, the three traditional superfamilies – Cercopoidea (froghoppers and spittlebugs), Cicadoidea (cicadas) and

– appear to be

. The leafhoppers are the most basal living lineage of Membracoidea, which otherwise include the

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideall ...

Aetalionidae Aetalionidae are a family of treehoppers in the superfamily Membracoidea The superfamily Membracoidea of sap-sucking true-bugs includes two of the largest families within what used to be called the "Homoptera": the leafhoppers ( Cicadellidae) ...

(aetalionid treehoppers), Membracidae (typical treehoppers and thorn bugs),

Melizoderidae Melizoderidae is a family of tree-hoppers restricted to South America with only two genera, ''Melizoderes'' and ''Llanquihuea''. The nymphs of melizoderids have the tergum of the 9th segment concealing the anal opening from above. The frontoclype ...

, and

Myerslopiidae Myerslopiidae is a family of tree-hoppers which consist of about 20 species in three genera with a distribution limited to New Zealand and Chile. Adult hoppers have a strongly sclerotized body with elytra-like tegmina meeting along the median. Th ...

Subfamilies

Bothrogonia ferruginea Yokohama 20060326

The leafhoppers are divided into 25

subfamilies In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

, which are listed here alphabetically, as too little is known about the family's internal

phylogeny A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spec ...

. *

Aphrodinae Aphrodinae is a subfamily of leafhoppers in the family Cicadellidae. There are about 7 genera and at least 20 described species in Aphrodinae. Genera These seven genera belong to the subfamily Aphrodinae: * ''Anoscopus'' Kirschbaum, 1858 * ''Ap ...

Bathysmatophorinae Bathysmatophorinae is a small Subfamily (biology), subfamily in the family Cicadellidae (leafhoppers). Description Bathysmatophorinae is a rare and primitive leafhopper subfamily, with a robust appearance and dull brown or grey colouration. They ...

* Coelidiinae *

Deltocephalinae Deltocephalinae is a subfamily of leafhoppers. Deltocephalinae is the largest subfamily in the family Cicadellidae and is divided into 40 tribes, comprising over 925 genera, and over 6,700 described species. Tribes There are currently 40 desc ...

* Errhomeninae * Euacanthellinae *

Eurymelinae Eurymelinae is a subfamily of leafhoppers in the family Cicadellidae. Selected genera * ''Barolineocerus'' Freytag, 2008 * ''Eurymela'' Lepeletier & Serville, 1825 * '' Eurymelessa'' Evans, 1933 * '' Eurymelita'' Evans, 1933 * '' Eurymeloides ...

* Evacanthinae * Hylicinae *

Iassinae Iassinae is a subfamily of leafhoppers in the family Cicadellidae. Tribes and selected genera Batracomorphini Authority: Krishnankutty, Dietrich, Dai & Siddappaji, 2016 * '' Batracomorphus'' Lewis, 1834 Bythoniini Authority: Linnavuori, 19 ...

* Jascopinae *

Ledrinae Ledrinae is a relatively small subfamily within the very large and diverse leafhopper family Cicadellidae. Originally placed in its own family, the "Ledridae", it is based on the type genus ''Ledra''. Description The Ledrinae are mostly g ...

* Megophthalminae *

Mileewinae Mileewinae is a small Subfamily (biology), subfamily in the family Cicadellidae (leafhoppers). It is closely related to Typhlocybinae and contains species that were previously part of Cicadellinae. Description Mileewinae leafhoppers are small, s ...

* Nastlopiinae *

Neobalinae Neobalinae is a small Subfamily (biology), subfamily in the family Cicadellidae (leafhoppers). Description Neobaline leafhoppers are often darkly coloured with fluorescent accents. Distribution Members of the subfamily are found feeding on Dico ...

Neocoelidiinae Neocoelidiinae is a small Subfamily (biology), subfamily in the family Cicadellidae (leafhoppers). It was originally included within the subfamily Coelidiinae. Description Neocoelidiinae are easily recognisable by their very long antennae and di ...

* Nioniinae * Phereurhininae * Portaninae * Signoretiinae * Tartessinae *

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 ...

Ulopinae Ulopinae is a subfamily of leafhoppers. Tribes * Cephalelini * Coloborrhinini * Mesargini * Monteithiini * Ulopini Description Leafhoppers from this group have hardened, elytra An elytron (; ; , ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beet ...

* Further information: '' Utecha trivia''

References

External links

Red-banded leafhopper ''Graphocephala coccinea'' – diagnostic photographs and information

Sharpshooter Leafhoppers of the World (Hemiptera: Cicadellinae) – Online Database with color photos of nearly all described species.

*

{{Taxonbar, from=Q244452 Membracoidea Insect vectors of plant pathogens Articles containing video clips

Description and ecology

Systematics

Subfamilies

See also

References

Further reading

External links