In north america they are a serious agricultural pest. In spring, flying adults are caught in updrafts and transported north on upper level airstreams. The potato leafhopper adult is highly mobile, wedgedshaped, green in color, and about 18 inch 3 mm long. Is new hampshire the center of the leafhopper universe. There are two common battles that you may face when storing potatoes potatoes growing sprouts and potatoes turning green. A less severe plant response is the simple loss of plant liquid, which may result in leaf yellowing and death if feeding is suf. Potato leafhopper adults are already present in all alfalfa fields we checked over the past week. The aster or sixspotted leafhopper, macrosteles quadrilineatus forbes, feeds on vegetables and annual flowers and spreads the aster yellows virus to woody plants like periwinkle and thunbergia species. Adult plh arrive in june and can usually be found first in alfalfa or beans. The feeding of most leafhoppers cause white stippling of foliage. Adults are very active, jumping, flying or running when disturbed. Distribution of the potato leafhopper empoasca fabae harris and its close relatives of empoasca. Potato leafhopper, empoasca fabae harris click on the map above for a larger version.
The body is widest at the head and tapers toward the wing tips. They typically pass through five nymphal stages before reaching the adult stage. Aphids, leafhoppers, psyllids, whiteflies, scale insects, and other homopterous pests are sensitive to. Northward influxes of leafhoppers are associated with southerly winds of 36 h or more duration and. Management with insecticides insecticides are used to control potato leafhopper in most commercial vineyards.
A great year for potato leafhopper july, 1998 leafhoppers can stunt alfalfa june, 1997 leafhoppers on the increase july, 1996. The typical form is distinctive, with strong dark markings and a pale hourglass on the top of the forewings. The potato leafhopper s toxic saliva causes considerably more damage in orchards. They are classified as agricultural pest in most parts of the world due to ability to transmit viral and bacterial diseases and produce. These minute insects, colloquially known as hoppers, are plant feeders that suck plant sap from grass, shrubs, or trees. Leafhopper damage on plants can be extensive, so learning how to kill leafhoppers in the garden and ridding lawns of leafhopper pests is important. Entomology image gallery cicadas and leafhoppers leafhoppers potato leafhopper. Potato leafhopper damage is intensified by drought. Potato leafhopper in alfalfa in rice county extension. Best picture for life science infographic for your taste you are looking for something, and it is go the life cycle for arachnida and insecta generally occurs via metamorphosis. They feed on foliage and shoots of many different plant species by. Host plants the potato leafhopper feeds on a variety of plant species and has been reported to feed on nearly 200 kinds of plants. For best results, fields should be evaluated for potato leafhopper 45 days after harvest when alfalfa is 34 inches tall. Leafhoppers rose leafhopper, grape leafhopper, variegated leafhopper, potato leafhopper, aster leafhopper pest type.
Injured plants typically exhibit vshaped yellowing of the leaf tips hopperburn. The potato leafhopper is an important insect pest of alfalfa, fruits, and vegetables. Potato leafhopper adults and nymphs are both very active. Potato leafhopper adult and nymphal potato leafhopper. Some of these populations already exceed the treatment threshold with just adults, so hatching nymphs. Among entomologists, the leafhopper ranks third as the most important insect pest in north america, after the colorado potato beetle and green peach aphid. The potato leafhopper feeds on more than 100 cultivated and wild plants including. Potato leafhopper emposaca fabae, plh is native to eastern north america and is found on apple, pear, grape, potato, strawberry, soybean, alfalfa, and many other field crops, as well as some forest trees. Crops that are impacted the most are potatoes, clover, beans, apples and alfalfa. Potato leafhoppers are also very numerous throughout north central kansas in uncut alfalfa fields. Thus, their characteristic feeding damage, called hopper burn, is common. The immature forms, or nymphs, are pale green and wingless. The once limited geographic and host ranges of many vectorborne diseases are expanding, spurred largely by anthropogenic factors.
Other leafhoppers cause browning, stunting, withering, and curling of leaves, which is often called hopper burn. Every year millions of dollars are lost from reduced crop yields and on pest management. The potato leafhopper, empoasca fabae, is a member of the leafhopper family cicadellidae and order hemiptera. The potato leafhopper is generally distributed northward by wind. Weeds that support leafhoppers include smartweed, pigweed, shepardspurse, and. Among entomologists, the leafhopper ranks third as the most important insect pest in north america.
Leafhoppers in certain states often attack apples, grapes, potatoes and roses in the home garden where damage may be more noticeable. Shade department of entomology purdue university, west lafayette, in 47907. Mesozoic palynomorphs from the north west shelf, offshore western australia. It is a piercingsucking insect that causes injury referred to as hopperburn.
Potato leafhopper rufus isaacs, msu entomology home scouting guide potato leafhopper the adult leafhopper is pale to bright green and about 18 inch long. Many aphids are parthenogenetic during part of the life cycle, such that. They fly north in the spring on the winds in the upper. Metamorphosis requires the careful synchrony of many hormones and other. Though its host range extends to over 100 plants including alfalfa, soybean, beans, apples, potatoes, and grapes, the potato leafhopper causes the most significant amount of injury to alfalfa and clover. Some common leafhopper species in gardens and landscapes are the rose leafhopper, grape leafhopper, variegated leafhopper, potato leafhopper, and the aster leafhopper. It overwinters on legumes in the gulf states and disperses to northern states on wind currents annually. Leafhoppers are wellknown for the problem heavy feeding creates for many crops, ornamental shrubs and trees, and flowers, with two species once engendering common names such as the inimical leafhopper and the destructive leafhopper. Periodical cicadas are synchronized in given regions. Previous research had reported some conflicting information on the feeding habits of different predatory insects. Common host plants include beans, corn, lettuce, beets, potato, grapes, roses and many others.
Adult potato leafhoppers are green with white spots on. Eggs are inserted into plant tissue by adult females where they can overwinter protected from the elements and any predators. Potato leafhopper iowa state university entomology. Damaged plants show large increases in respiration that deplete photosynthates required for haulm and tuber development.
The front margin of the prothorax is usually marked with six white spots. Pesky leafhoppers are tiny insects with an insatiable appetite. It is as if they are two or three completely different animals with different needs and habitats, instead of a. Adult leafhoppers are relatively small, rarely exceeding 14inch in length. Potato leafhopper vegetables university of maryland extension. Much plant feeding of this type occurs on rangeland. This leafhopper adult is bright, limey green and about 18 inches long 3 mm. The potato leafhopper, empoasca fabae harris, occasionally damages alfalfa in our area. Complete metamorphosis has a four stages egg larva pupa imago. The ingredients from this tree approximate the shape and structure of hormones vital to the lives of insects not to mention some other invertebrates and even some microbes. Leafhopper damage on plants in the garden is remarkably similar to that of spider mites. Some leafhoppers that are important pests of vegetables include beet leafhopper, potato leafhopper, and aster leafhopper. Vectorborne disease emergence and resurgence ncbi bookshelf.
Host plants the potato leafhopper feeds on a variety of plant species and. Experiments showed that as the density of hairs on leaf veins increased, the potato leafhopper damage decreased. Potato leafhoppers should be monitored after the first cutting through the end of the season. Adults are wedge shaped with wings held folded and arched over their back. Potato leafhopper nymph left and adult right family cicadidae.
Incomplete metamorphosis includes the stages 1 egg 2 nymph and 3 imago. Potato leafhopper ct integrated pest management program. They are more commonly referred to as the potato leafhopper. Leafhopper pests of connecticut nurseries and landscapes. Swathing should reduce potato leafhopper populations significantly and, hopefully, they will not rebound. The adult potato leafhopper is a tiny, yellowishgreen, wedgeshaped insect, about 18 inch 3 mm long. When the density of hairs exceeded 3 per mm2, no feeding damage was observed. Leafhopper adults 14 inch long are slender, wedgeshaped insects that fly or disperse rapidly when disturbed. Although the potato leafhopper does not overwinter in northern areas, it may complete several generations in these areas. As true bugs, leafhoppers undergo incomplete metamorphosis, meaning that the immature leafhoppers are called nymphs and look similar to the adults except for being smaller, paler, and wingless. Leafhoppers and planthoppers missouri botanical garden. In new hampshire, strafford county has the greatest number of leafhopper species with 468.
This is earlier than usual for these pests as they typically dont migrate into the state for another month, between the 2 nd and 3 rd cutting. Potato leafhoppers do not typically build up to damaging levels during the first crop in iowa. The potato leafhopper, empoasca fabae harris, feeds on legumaceous plants like alfalfa, as well as on apple, birch, chestnut, maples, and others. They run forward, backward or sideways when disturbed. Yield loss in potato can occur before visual symptoms of potato leafhopper damage are obvious. Induction of macroptery, precocious metamorphosis, and retarded ovarian growth.
Adult potato and aster leafhoppers feed on a broader. Species that are significant agricultural pests include the potato leafhopper, beet leafhopper, white apple leafhopper, twospotted leafhopper, and glassywinged sharpshooter. They feed on weeds during the early spring, and then adults fly into alfalfa fields where several generations may be completed during the rest of the growing season. Empoasca fabae potato leafhopper plh link to photos in folder is thought to be a native species. Control measures should be taken at the first sight of eggsnymphs or damage as adult leafhoppers are difficult to control due to their mobility.
There are many insects under the umbrella term of leafhoppers of which the two that are economically important to potato growers are the aster leafhopper macrosteles quadrillineatus and the potato leafhopper empoasca fabae. Potato leafhoppers are primarily pests of alfalfa although they feed on a number of other crops, including potato, green beans, dry beans, and soybeans. Jun 30, 20 i took leaf samples down to our agricultural extension office and they identified leafhoppers to be my problemnot specifically the potato leafhopper, though. The pale green to yellow nymphs, are wingless, smaller than the adults, and very quick. It is potentially the most damaging of the alfalfa pests because of the debilitating effect of its feeding on newly established alfalfa stands and stunting of regrowth alfalfa. Potato leafhoppers can be very destructive on hybrid or vinifera varieties that are sensitive to the saliva they inject while feeding. The adults jump or fly away as you walk through the field. Potato leafhopper, empoasca fabae, causes hopper burn on red maple and other important shade trees and shrubs. Interrelationship of leafhopper abundance and yield of potato in pakistan. Empoasca fabae, potato leafhopper potato leafhopper. Small 18inch long, yellowgreen, wedgeshaped insects that move sideways, jump or fly when disturbed.
Of the two leafhoppers above, the potato leafhopper has the most effect on yield reduction. Potato leafhopper is a consistently important pest in central and eastern north america. Those of the intermountain potato leafhopper empoasca. The potato leafhoppers toxic saliva causes considerably more damage in orchards. The entire life cycle takes about a month, there are three or four generations in kentucky each year.
Potato leafhopper potato leafhopper empoasca fabae damages crops through direct feeding on the sap. In the midwest, potato leafhoppers are important pests in alfalfa and potatoes. Trees most likely to be damaged are maples especially red, norway and sugar, birch, apple and crabapple, and viburnum. Potato leafhopper is here june, 1998 potato leafhopper management in alfalfa june, 1999. They are also responsible for transmitting the organisms causing virus diseases in plants. The life cycle of leafhoppers is an incomplete metamorphosis as they hatch from eggs and mature through multiple nymphal stages before reaching adulthood. Under severe drought conditions, where dry weather conditions are expected to continue, leafhopper action thresholds can be halved, especially for new seedings. Potato leafhoppers prefer to feed on young succulent leaves so managing canopy vigour through the use of balanced pruning, cover crops and appropriate fertilizer applications will reduce food sources for them.
The growing accumulation of experience demonstrates that neem products work by intervening at several stages of an insects life. Potato leafhopper overwinters along the gulf coast. Millions of dollars are lost annually because of the potato leafhopper, which eats not just potato greens but beans, alfalfa, clover, and apples. Potato leafhopper is primarily a pest of potatoes and snap or dry beans, but also can affect eggplant and other vegetables, raspberries, apple and other fruits as well as field crops including alfalfa, cowpea, soybean and red clover. Potato leafhopper, empoasca fabae specialized websites. The body is wedgelike with a broad head and a tapered abdomen fig. Management with insecticides insecticides are used to control potato leafhopper in. Epidemics of malaria, dengue, and other formerly contained vectorborne diseases are on the rise in the developing world, and in recent years the united states has witnessed the introduction of west nile virus wnv in new york city and the emergence of previously. Managing potato leafhoppers in alfalfa integrated crop. Leafhoppers have piercing sucking mouthparts, they feed on plant sap and can transmit plantinfecting viruses and bacteria. In addition to fruit trees and forage crops, vegetables such as beans, potatoes, eggplant, and rhubarb are subject to infestation. The virginia creeper leafhopper adult is pale yellowish or white with a zigzag stripe down each wing and distinctly red crossveins.
Considerations for pest management the developmental stages of insects with complete metamorphosis support rather than compete with each other. The potato leafhopper, empoasca fabae harris, has a much broader host range than the white apple leafhopper, feeding on apple, grapes, strawberry, potato, many other vegetable crops, beans, alfalfa and approximately 200 other species of plants. The bodies of these insects absorb the neem compounds as if they were the real hormones. Soybeans are rarely damaged by potato leafhopper feeding because hairs on leaves and stems provide a level of protection. A leafhopper is the common name for any species from the family cicadellidae. Potato leafhoppers overwinter as adults between southern louisiana and northern florida.
Field crops uw entomology department of entomology. Potato leafhoppers are detected by sweeping the field using a standard 15inchdiameter insect sweep net. Species in the genus, erythroneura, feed on sycamore leaves, but also on apple, grape and willow. Female leafhoppers insert tiny eggs in tender plant tissue, causing pimplelike injuries. The potato leafhopper empoasca fabae is a destructive potato pest that causes that plants leaves to turn brown and curl. A sweep net is the most effective way to sample for potato leafhoppers because. Biological studies on the leafhopper empoasca fabae as a bean pest. Sample potato leafhopper periodically after the first cutting. Adult leafhoppers are very mobile, and often must be sampled with a sweep net or some sort of sticky trap. They move to potatoes as the plants mature and contain more sugar.
The adult potato leafhopper is winged, pale green, wedgeshaped insect about 18inch long. Description the potato leafhopper, empoasca fabae, is perhaps the most abundant insect pest in new york state alfalfa fields. For potato leafhopper, treatment has been recommended if densities exceed 1030 nymphs per 100 leaves johnson and radcliffe, 1991. Potato leafhopper is primarily a pest of potatoes and snap or dry beans, but also can affect eggplant and other vegetables, raspberries, apple and other fruits as well as field crops including alfalfa, cowpea. Nymphs of the beet leafhopper circulifer tenellus, are pale yellowish green.
Numerous species of leafhoppers and planthoppers are found in missouri, and many of them have a broad host list for example, the potato leafhopper, empoasca fabae, has over 100 host plants. Potato leafhopper nymphs on alfalfa feed on both stems and leaves. Privet leafhopper fieberiella florii rose leafhoppers edwardsiana rosae leave a coarse, whitish mottling on the leaves upper. Leafhoppers go through incomplete metamorphosis in their development. Empoasca fabae belongs to family cicadellidae and genus empoasca within order hemiptera. The cicadas annual or dogday cicadas life cycles take several years, but broods overlap, and some adults emerge every year. The beet leafhopper circulifer tenellus can transmit the beet curly top virus to various members of the nightshade family, including tobacco, tomato, or eggplant, and is a serious vector of the disease in chili pepper in the southwestern united states. Adults are greenish white, 1 3 inch 8mm long, and have a wedge shape when viewed from.
They feed on foliage and shoots of many different plant species by piercing the plant cells and sucking out the contents. Nymphs resemble adults but have wing pads instead of fully developed wings. Leafhoppers inhabit forests, grasslands, farms, agricultural fields, backyards and gardens. A sweep net is the most effective way to sample for potato leafhoppers because adults and nymphs are. 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 pheromones. Jun 02, 2014 potato leafhoppers do not overwinter in iowa, but they are persistent alfalfa pests every growing season. Jul 30, 2015 potato leafhopper is a pest of many agricultural crops. Fields should be monitored weekly after the first cutting until the end of the season. This common agricultural pest is found widely throughout north america. Their wings are positioned like a roof over their backs, and they have small spines on both. The intermountain potato leafhopper feeds on the underside of potato leaves, resulting in leaf curling and stunted growth.
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