Sharpshooter Nymph – Draeculacephala sp.

Sharpshooter Nymph – Draeculacephala sp.
Family Cicadellidae – Leafhoppers
Bugs Main | Suborder Auchenorrhyncha – Cicadas & Planthoppers
Live adult sharpshooters photographed at Warrenville, Illinois

Sharpshooter Nymph - Draeculacephala sp.
Sharpshooter nymph with Phoretic mite attached to hind leg

"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 (Fig 1.) with an audible popping noise, hence the common name. [1]

Silver Leafhopper, Athysanus argentarius
Prototypical sharpshooter with butt bubble: Silver Leafhopper Athysanus argentarius

References

  1. Bugguide.net, Subfamily Cicadellinae
  2. BugGuide.net, Sharpshooter Nymph – Draeculacephala sp.
Order Hemiptera: True Bugs number almost 5,000 species in North America, and 40,000 worldwide. They have mouthparts formed into a beak, adapted for sucking plant juices or the liquefied insides of their animal prey.
Suborder Auchenorrhyncha – Cicadas & Planthoppers
Suborder Sternorrhyncha – Aphids, scales, mealybugs, jumping plant lice.