Leafhopper 2535591 225561481 2008-07-14T09:17:26Z LOL 162210 ref & cite template {{Refimprove|date=February 2008}} {{Taxobox | name = Leafhopper | image = Graphocephala_coccinea_6.jpg | image_width = 250px | image_caption = Red-banded leafhopper (''[[Graphocephala coccinea]]'') | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Arthropod]]a | classis = [[Insect]]a | ordo = [[Hemiptera]] | subordo = [[Auchenorrhyncha]] | infraordo = [[Cicadomorpha]] | superfamilia = [[Membracoidea]] | familia = '''Cicadellidae''' | familia_authority = [[Pierre André Latreille|Latreille]], 1802 | subdivision_ranks = [[Genus|Genera]] | subdivision = Many hundreds, including:<br> ''[[Empoasca]]''<br /> ''[[Graminella]]''<br /> ''[[Graphocephala]]''<br /> ''[[Homalodisca]]''<br /> ''[[Idiocerus]]'' }} '''Leafhopper''' is a common name applied to any species from the [[family (biology)|family]] '''Cicadellidae'''. Leafhoppers, also known as '''hoppers''', are minute plant-feeding [[insect]]s in the [[superfamily]] [[Membracoidea]] in the order [[Hemiptera]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tolweb.org/Membracoidea/10830 |title=Membracoidea |work=Tree of Life Web Project |accessdate=2008-07-14}}</ref> Recent classification within the Hemiptera has placed the members of the archaic "Homoptera" into two new suborders: [[Sternorrhyncha]] (aphids, whiteflies, scales, psyllids...) and [[Auchenorrhyncha]] (cicadas, leafhoppers, treehoppers, planthoppers...). The name Auchenorrhyncha is itself likely to be replaced, as research indicates it is not a [[monophyletic]] group. Leafhoppers are found all over the world, and it is the second largest family in the Hemiptera; there are at least 20,000 described species. Leafhoppers have piercing sucking mouthparts, they feed on plant sap and can transmit plant-infecting viruses and bacteria. Species that are significant agricultural pests include the [[potato leafhopper]], [[beet leafhopper]], [[white apple leafhopper]], [[two-spotted leafhopper]], and [[glassy-winged sharpshooter]]. A Leafhoppers' diet commonly consists of plant sap from a wide and diverse range of plants. Leafhoppers mainly consume vegetation but have been known to indulge in small insects such as Aphids. The Cicadellidae combine the following features: * thickened part of the antennae very short and ending with a bristle ([[antenna (biology)|arista]]) * two simple eyes ([[ocellus|ocelli]]) present on the top or front of the head * tarsi made of three segments * front femora with at most weak spines * hind tibia with one or more distinct keels, with a row of movable spines on each, sometimes on enlarged bases * base of middle legs close together where they originate under the thorax * front wings not particularly thickened. An additional, unique character of leafhoppers is the production of [[brochosome]]s which are thought to protect egg masses from predation and pathogens. Leafhoppers are susceptible to various pathogens; viruses as in the(''[[Dicistroviridae]]''), bacteria, fungi, as well as having a host of parasitoids which attack the eggs. Leafhoppers are often responsible for the spread of [[phytopathology|plant pathogens]] especially [[plant virus|viruses]] and [[phytoplasma]]s.<ref>Lee ''et al.'' (2000) Phytoplasmas: phytopathogenic mollicutes. Annual Review of Microbiology '''54''' 221-255</ref> In some cases these plant pathogens are also pathogens of the insect themselves, and can [[replicate]] within the [[salivary gland]]s. <gallery widths="200px" perrow="2"> Image:Two-lined gum treehopper03.jpg|Two-lined gum treehopper Image:Common jassid nymph and ant02.jpg|Common jassid nymph (''Eurymela fenestrata'') tended by [[ant]]s Image:Green_insect.jpg|Nymph of ''Neotituria kongosana'' Image:Common jassid nymph feeding.jpg|Common jassid nymphs feeding </gallery> {{commons|Eurymela fenestrata}} ==See also== *[[Planthopper]] ==References== {{reflist}} *Carver, M, FG. Gross, and TE. Woodward. 1991. Hemiptera (bugs, leafhoppers, cidadas, aphids, scale insects, etc.) In: ''The Insects of Australia - a Textbook for Students and Research Workers Volume 1.'' Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, Australia". ==External links== {{wikispecies|Cicadellidae}} {{commonscat|Cicadellidae}} *[http://www.cicadellidae.org Cicadellidae Taxonomy Site] *[http://www.cirrusimage.com/homoptera_leafhopper_Graphocephala_coccinea.htm Red-banded leafhopper ''Graphocephala coccinea'' - diagnostic photographs and information] *[http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/~dietrich/Leafhome.html Illinois Natural History Survey:leafhoppers] * [http://gallery.kunzweb.net/main.php?g2_itemId=264 Leafhoppers Central Europe] * [http://gallery.kunzweb.net/main.php?g2_itemId=10253 Leafhoppers Costa Rica] [[Category:Auchenorrhyncha]] [[Category:Insect vectors of plant pathogens]] [[fr:Cicadellidae]] [[it:Cicadellidae]] [[lt:Cikadėlės]] [[hu:Mezeikabóca-félék]] [[ja:ヨコバイ]] [[no:Dvergsikader]] [[sl:Mali škržatki]]