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Red-banded Leafhopper - Graphocephala coccinea |
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"Sharpshooter" is one common name for the leafhopper subfamily Cicadellinae, which includes Paraulacizes, Oncometopia, Cuerna, Draeculacephala, Graphocephala and many other genera. They get this name from their habit of feeding on the watery sap of xylem tissue, which conducts moisture from the roots up to the leaves. Excess water droplets are forced out the tip of the abdomen with an audible popping noise, hence the common name. [1] The red-banded leafhopper is widely distributed in North and Central America, from Canada south to Panama. [3] |
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 millimeter scale |
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G. coccinea has been identified as one of several leafhopper vectors of a leaf scorch known as Pierce's disease, caused by the gammaproteobacteria Xylella fastidiosa. It is responsible for the decline of certain woody plants such as elm, oak, and other ornamental trees. According to the United States National Arboretum, "An understanding of the transmission of this bacterium by insect vectors is economically important because there is neither any known effective therapy for infected trees and shrubs nor a strategy for preventing infection."[4] |
A very similar looking hopper, Graphocephala
teliformis
References
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