Leafhopper is the common name for any

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

from the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Cicadellidae: based on the

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus (''genus typica'') is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearin ...

Cicadella ''Cicadella'' is the type genus of leafhoppers in the subfamily Cicadellinae and tribe Cicadellini. Species are found mostly in Europe and Asia, but there are also records from Africa and the Americas. ''Cicadella'' was named by Pierre Andr� ...

''. These minute

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s, colloquially known as hoppers, are plant feeders that suck

plant sap Sap is a fluid transported in the xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a sep ...

from grass, shrubs, or trees. 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

pheromone A pheromone () is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the secreting individual, to affect the behavio ...

s. They undergo a partial

metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth transformation or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and different ...

, and have various host associations, varying from very generalized to very specific. Some species have a cosmopolitan distribution, or occur throughout the temperate and tropical regions. Some are pests or vectors of

plant virus Plant viruses are viruses that have the potential to affect plants. Like all other viruses, plant viruses are obligate intracellular parasites that do not have the molecular machinery to replicate without a host. Plant viruses can be pathoge ...

es and

phytoplasma Phytoplasmas are obligate intracellular parasites of plant phloem tissue and of the insect vectors that are involved in their plant-to-plant transmission. Phytoplasmas were discovered in 1967 by Japanese scientists who termed them mycoplasma-li ...

s. The family is distributed all over the world, and constitutes the second-largest hemipteran family, with at least 20,000 described species. They belong to a lineage traditionally treated as

infraorder Order () is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between Family_(biology), family and Class_(biology), class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classific ...

Cicadomorpha Cicadomorpha is an infraorder of the insect order Hemiptera which contains the cicadas, leafhoppers, treehoppers, and spittlebugs. There are approximately 35,000 described species worldwide. Distributed worldwide, all members of this group are ...

in the

suborder Order () is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and recognized ...

Auchenorrhyncha The Auchenorrhyncha suborder of the Hemiptera contains most of the familiar members of what was called the "Homoptera" – groups such as cicadas, leafhoppers, treehoppers, planthoppers, and spittlebugs. The aphids and scale insects are the o ...

. This has sometimes been placed in its own suborder (Clypeorrhyncha), but more recent research retains it within Auchenorrhyncha. Members of the

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

Proconiini The name sharpshooter is used to refer to any of various genera and species of large leafhoppers in the tribe Proconiini of the family leafhopper, Cicadellidae. As with all cicadellids, they have piercing-sucking mouthparts and closely spaced ro ...

of the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Cicadellinae CicadellinaeLatreille (1825) is a leafhopper subfamily in the family Cicadellidae. Selected genera * ''Bothrogonia'' * ''Cicadella'' * ''Cofana'' * ''Graphocephala ''Graphocephala'' is a large genus of leafhoppers, found from southern ...

are commonly known as sharpshooters.

Description and ecology

The Cicadellidae combine the following features: * The thickened part of the antennae is very short and ends with a bristle (arista). * Two

ocelli A simple eye or ocellus (sometimes called a pigment pit) is a form of eye or an optical arrangement which has a single lens without the sort of elaborate retina that occurs in most vertebrates. These eyes are called "simple" to distinguish the ...

(simple eyes) are present on the top or front of the head. * The tarsi are made of three segments. * The femora are at front with, at most, weak spines. * The hind tibiae have one or more distinct keels, with a row of movable spines on each, sometimes on enlarged bases. * The base of the middle legs is close together where they originate under the

thorax The thorax (: thoraces or thoraxes) or chest is a part of the anatomy of mammals and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main di ...

. * The front wings not particularly thickened. An additional and unique character of leafhoppers is the production of

brochosome Brochosomes are intricately structured microscopic granules secreted by leafhoppers (the family Cicadellidae of the insect order Hemiptera) and typically found on their body surface and, more rarely, eggs. Brochosomes were first described in 1 ...

s, which are thought to protect the animals, and particularly their egg

clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that allows an output shaft to be disconnected from a rotating input shaft. The clutch's input shaft is typically attached to a motor, while the clutch's output shaft is connected to the mechanism that does th ...

es, from predation as well as pathogens. Cicada0001

Like other

Exopterygota The Exopterygota (Ancient Greek ''ἔξω'' (éxō, "outside") + ''πτερόν'' (pterón, "wing") + Neo-Latin ''-ota'' ("having")), also known as Hemimetabola, are a superorder of insects of the subclass Pterygota in the infraclass Neoptera, ...

, the leafhoppers undergo direct development from

nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

to adult without a

pupa A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages th ...

l stage. While many leafhoppers are drab little insects as is typical for the

Membracoidea The superfamily Membracoidea of sap-sucking true-bugs includes two of the largest families within what used to be called the "Homoptera": the leafhoppers ( Cicadellidae) and the treehoppers ( Membracidae). The other families in this group are qu ...

, the adults and nymphs of some

are quite colorful. Some – in particular Stegelytrinae – have largely translucent wings and resemble

flies Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwin ...

at a casual glance. Leafhoppers have

piercing-sucking mouthpart Insects have mouthparts that may vary greatly across insect species, as they are adapted to particular modes of feeding. The earliest insects had chewing mouthparts. Most specialisation of mouthparts are for piercing and sucking, and this mode ...

s, enabling them to feed on

. A leafhoppers' diet commonly consists of sap from a wide and diverse range of plants, but some are more

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County * Host Island, in the Wilhelm Archipelago, Antarctica People * ...

-specific. Leafhoppers mainly are

herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat ...

s, but some are known to eat smaller insects, such as

aphid Aphids are small sap-sucking insects in the Taxonomic rank, family Aphididae. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white Eriosomatinae, woolly ...

s, on occasion. A few species are known to be

mud-puddling Puddling is a behaviour in which an organism seeks out nutrients in certain moist substances such as rotting plant matter, mud, and carrion, and sucks up the fluid. Where the conditions are suitable, conspicuous insects such as butterfly, butterf ...

, but as it seems, females rarely engage in such behavior. Many species are also known to opportunistically pierce the human skin and draw blood but the function of such behaviour is unclear. Leafhoppers are

micropredator Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted str ...

s that can act as vectors transmitting

plant pathogen Plant diseases are diseases in plants caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, oomycetes, bacteria, viruses, viroids, virus-like orga ...

s, such as

viruses A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Viruses are found in almo ...

s and bacteria. Cicadellidae species that are significant agricultural pests include the beet leafhopper (''Circulifer tenellus''), the maize leafhopper ('' Cicadulina mbila''), potato leafhopper (''

Empoasca fabae Potato leafhopper (''Empoasca fabae'') belongs to family Cicadellidae and genus Empoasca within order Hemiptera.”Lamp, W., D., Miranda, L., Culler & Alexander, L. (2011) “Host Suitability and Gas Exchange Response of Grapevines to Potato Le ...

''), two-spotted leafhopper ('' Sophonia rufofascia''), blue-green sharpshooter (''

Graphocephala ''Graphocephala'' is a large genus of leafhoppers, found from southern Canada to northern South America. Species References

Cicadellini Cicadellidae genera Hemiptera of North America Insects of South America Taxa named by Edward P ...

atropunctata''),

glassy-winged sharpshooter The glassy-winged sharpshooter (''Homalodisca vitripennis'', formerly known as ''H. coagulata'') is a large leafhopper (family Cicadellidae), similar to other species of sharpshooter. Description These sharpshooters are about in length. Their ...

(''Homalodisca vitripennis''), the common brown leafhopper (''Orosius orientalis''), rice green leafhoppers (''

Nephotettix ''Nephotettix''Matsumura (1902) ''Termés. Füzetek,'' 25, 378. is a genus of Cicadellidae, leafhoppers in the subfamily Deltocephalinae and Tribe (biology), tribe Chiasmini. Species are mostly found in Asia, although two are from Africa. Known ...

'' spp.), and the white apple leafhopper ('' Typhlocyba pomaria''). The beet leafhopper (''Circulifer tenellus'') can transmit the beet curly top virus to various members of the

nightshade family Solanaceae (), commonly known as the nightshades, is a family of flowering plants in the order Solanales. It contains approximately 2,700 species, several of which are used as agricultural crops, medicinal plants, and ornamental plants. Many me ...

, including tobacco, tomato, or eggplant, and is a serious vector of the disease in

chili pepper Chili peppers, also spelled chile or chilli ( ), are varieties of fruit#Berries, berry-fruit plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for their pungency. They are used as a spice to ...

in the Southwestern United States. In some cases, the plant pathogens distributed by leafhoppers are also

pathogen In biology, a pathogen (, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of"), in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a Germ theory of d ...

s of the insects themselves, and can replicate within the leafhoppers'

salivary gland The salivary glands in many vertebrates including mammals are exocrine glands that produce saliva through a system of ducts. Humans have three paired major salivary glands ( parotid, submandibular, and sublingual), as well as hundreds of min ...

s. Leafhoppers are also susceptible to various insect pathogens, including

Dicistroviridae ''Dicistroviridae'' is a family of viruses in the order ''Picornavirales''. Invertebrates, including aphids, leafhoppers, flies, bees, ants, and silkworms, serve as natural hosts. There are 16 species in this family, assigned to three genera. D ...

viruses, bacteria and

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

; numerous

parasitoid In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionarily stable str ...

s attack the eggs and the adults provide food for small

insectivore file:Common brown robberfly with prey.jpg, A Asilidae, robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivore, carnivorous animal or plant which eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the Entomophagy ...

s. Some species such as the Australian ''Kahaono montana'' even build silk nests under the leaves of trees they live in, to protect them from predators. Leaf hopper nymph coelidia spp

Systematics

Bothrogonia ferruginea Yokohama 20060326

In the now-obsolete classification that was used throughout much of the 20th century, the leafhoppers were part of the Homoptera, a

paraphyletic Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

assemblage uniting the basal lineages of

Hemiptera Hemiptera (; ) is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising more than 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from ...

and ranked as

. The splitting of the Homoptera is likely to be repeated for the

for similar reasons, as the Auchenorrhyncha simply seem to group the moderately advanced Hemiptera, regardless of the fact the highly

apomorph In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel character or character state that has evolved from its ancestral form (or plesiomorphy). A synapomorphy is an apomorphy shared by two or more taxa and is therefore hypothesized to ha ...

Coleorrhyncha Coleorrhyncha or Peloridiomorpha, also known as moss bugs or beetle bugs, are a suborder of Hemiptera and represent an ancient lineage of moss-feeding insects. They show some similarities to the Heteroptera but have been considered distinct. It h ...

and

Heteroptera The Heteroptera are a group of about 40,000 species of insects in the order Hemiptera. They are sometimes called "true bugs", though that name more commonly refers to the Hemiptera as a whole. "Typical bugs" might be used as a more unequivocal al ...

(typical bugs) evolved from auchenorrhynchans. Hence, a recent trend treats the most advanced hemipterans as three or four lineages, namely Archaeorrhyncha (Fulgoromorpha if included in Auchenorrhyncha), Coleorrhyncha and Heteroptera (sometimes united as

Prosorrhyncha The name Prosorrhyncha is a name (proposed by Sorensen et al. 1995) for a suborder of Hemiptera, comprising a grouping of the traditional taxon "Heteroptera" plus its sister taxon, the family Peloridiidae (often classified as a suborder itself). T ...

) and Clypeorrhyncha. Within the latter, the three traditional superfamilies –

Cercopoidea The superfamily Cercopoidea, some members of which are called froghoppers and still others known as spittlebugs, are a group of hemipteran insects in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha. Adults are capable of jumping many times their height and length, ...

(froghoppers and spittlebugs), Cicadoidea (cicadas) and

– appear to be

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

. The leafhoppers are the most basal living lineage of Membracoidea, which otherwise include the

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

Aetalionidae Aetalionidae are a family of treehoppers in the superfamily Membracoidea. Aetalionidae are somewhat like Membracidae in that they have one to three rows of short spines on the hind tibia but differ in having the front femur fused to the trochan ...

(aetalionid

treehopper Treehoppers (more precisely typical treehoppers to distinguish them from the Aetalionidae) and thorn bugs are members of the family Membracidae, a group of insects related to the cicadas and the leafhoppers. About 3,200 species of treehoppers i ...

s), Membracidae (typical treehoppers and thorn bugs),

Melizoderidae Melizoderidae is a family of treehoppers restricted to South America with only two genera, ''Melizoderes'' and ''Llanquihuea''. The nymphs of melizoderids have the tergum of the 9th segment concealing the anal opening from above. The frontoclype ...

, and

Myerslopiidae Myerslopiidae is a family of tree-hoppers which consist of about 20 species in three genera with a distribution limited to New Zealand and Chile. Adult hoppers have a strongly sclerotized body with elytra-like tegmina meeting along the median. Th ...

Subfamilies

The leafhoppers are divided into 25

subfamilies In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zool ...

, which are listed here alphabetically, as too little is known about the family's internal

phylogeny A phylogenetic tree or phylogeny is a graphical representation which shows the evolutionary history between a set of species or Taxon, taxa during a specific time.Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, M ...

. * Aphrodinae *

Bathysmatophorinae Bathysmatophorinae is a small Subfamily (biology), subfamily in the family Cicadellidae (leafhoppers). Description Bathysmatophorinae is a rare and primitive leafhopper subfamily, with a robust appearance and dull brown or grey colouration. They ...

Coelidiinae Coelidiinae is a subfamily of leafhoppers in the family Cicadellidae. There are at least 8 tribes, 108 genera, and over 900 species in Coelidiinae. Tribes The subfamily Coelidiinae is made up of these tribes. The number of genera and species ...

Deltocephalinae Deltocephalinae is a subfamily of leafhoppers. Deltocephalinae is the largest subfamily in the family Cicadellidae and is divided into 40 tribes, comprising over 925 genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below fam ...

Errhomeninae Errhomeninae is an insect subfamily of the family Cicadellidae, or the leafhoppers. It contains 3 tribes. Classification * Bathysmatophorini Anufriev, 1978 ** † ''Ambericarda'' Szwedo & Gębicki, 1998 ** ''Ankosus'' Oman & Musgrave, 1975 ** ...

* Euacanthellinae *

Eurymelinae Eurymelinae is a subfamily of leafhopper Leafhopper is the common name for any species from the family (biology), family Cicadellidae: based on the type genus ''Cicadella''. These minute insects, colloquially known as hoppers, are plant feeder ...

* Evacanthinae *

Hylicinae Hylicinae is a subfamily in the family Cicadellidae (leafhoppers). Description Hylicine leafhoppers are moderately robust insects and are brownish to greyish in colouration. They feed on Dicotyledon trees and shrubs. Distribution This subfamil ...

Iassinae Iassinae is a subfamily of leafhoppers in the family Cicadellidae. Tribes and selected genera Source: Batracomorphini Authority: Krishnankutty, Dietrich, Dai & Siddappaji, 2016 * '' Batracomorphus'' Lewis, 1834 Bythoniini Authority: Linnav ...

* Jascopinae * Ledrinae *

Megophthalminae Megophthalminae is a subfamily of leafhoppers; it includes genera included in the former subfamily Agalliinae. Tribes and genera ''BioLib'' includes four tribes: Adelungiini Authority: Baker, 1915 ;subtribe Achrina # ''Achrus'' # ''Bergevina ...

Mileewinae Mileewinae is a small subfamily in the family Cicadellidae (leafhoppers). It is closely related to Typhlocybinae and contains species that were previously part of Cicadellinae. Description Mileewinae leafhoppers are small, slender, and usually ...

* Nastlopiinae * Neobalinae * Neocoelidiinae * Nioniinae * Phereurhininae * Portaninae * Signoretiinae * Tartessinae *

Typhlocybinae Typhlocybinae is a subfamily of insects in the leafhopper, leafhopper family, Cicadellidae. This is currently the second largest leafhopper subfamily based on the number of described species, but researchers believe there are so many taxa yet und ...

Ulopinae Ulopinae is a subfamily of leafhoppers. Tribes *Cephalelini *Coloborrhinini *Mesargini *Monteithiini *Ulopini Description Leafhoppers from this group have hardened, elytron, elytra like forewings. They are often brown or black in colour and ca ...

* Further information: ''

Agalliopsis ''Agalliopsis'' is a genus of leafhopper, typical leafhoppers in the subfamily Megophthalminae found in the Americas. There are more than 120 described species in ''Agalliopsis''. Species The following species belong to the genus ''Agalliopsis'': ...

'', '' Utecha trivia'' File:Aphrodes makarovi in copula.ogv, '' Aphrodes makarovi'' in copula ( Aphrodinae) File:Leaf Hopper - Phoenix Arizona - Unknown Species.jpg, ''

Gyponana ''Gyponana'' is a genus of leafhoppers in the family Cicadellidae found mainly in North America. There are at least 90 described species in ''Gyponana'', but most are difficult to identify based on external characteristics. Species are usually ...

'' from

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

File:Coppery Leafhopper (Jikradia olitoria) - Guelph, Ontario 2016-08-01.jpg, '' Jikradia olitoria'' (subfamily

) File:Evacanthus nigramericanus male.jpg, '' Evacanthus nigramericanus'' (subfamily Evacanthinae) File:Stirellus bicolor Kaldari 01.jpg, '' Stirellus bicolor'' (subfamily

) File:Fieberiella florii private leafhooper.webm, '' Fieberiella florii'' nymph leafhopper

References

External links

* *
Red-banded leafhopper ''Graphocephala coccinea'' – diagnostic photographs and information

Sharpshooter Leafhoppers of the World (Hemiptera: Cicadellinae) – Online Database with color photos of nearly all described species.

*

{{Authority control Membracoidea Insect vectors of plant pathogens Articles containing video clips

Description and ecology

Systematics

Subfamilies

See also

References

Further reading

External links