Empoasca fabae

Homoptera (Heteroptera): Cicadellidae

Identification
• Adult is a ¹/₈" long, green, wedge-shaped insect that readily jumps and flies when disturbed. (a)
• Nymph is similar to the adult except that it is smaller and cannot fly.

Damage
• Sucks sap from the leaves on branch tips causing white spots (stippling) (b), distortion, mottling, and brown edges (c). Somewhat mimics herbicide injury.
• Results in less stem elongation than normal.
• Red maple, winged euonymous, sugar maple, wafer-ash, crabapple, and other trees and shrubs are attacked.

Management
• Tolerate the damage.
• Apply chemical insecticides when damage appears.

Other Information
• Potato leafhopper feeds heavily on alfalfa and may move from alfalfa fields into landscapes.
• Most other leafhopper species cause little damage, although some can transmit plant diseases.
• Other leafhoppers, when numerous, can cause turf to become yellow, but treatment is usually not necessary.