Planthopper
Planthoppers are sap-sucking insects known for leaf-like appearance and jumping ability.
Last updated
According to Boggs (2016), planthopper adults measure 1/4 to 3/8 inch in length, display colors such as purplish blue, lime green, or powdery white, and keep their broad wings raised vertically like a tent to hide their body sides and legs.[1]
Scientific classification
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumArthropoda
- CladePancrustacea
- ClassInsecta
- OrderHemiptera
- SuborderAuchenorrhyncha
- InfraorderFulgoromorpha
Named by Evans, 1946
Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Planthopper (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Quick Facts
- Infraorder
- Fulgoromorpha
- Suborder
- Auchenorrhyncha
- Distribution
- worldwide
- Feeding habit
- plant-feeders (sap-sucking)
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
Adult females of many families also produce wax which may be used to protect eggs.[2] Planthopper nymphs possess a biological gear mechanism at the base of the hind legs, which keeps the legs in synchrony when jumping.[3] Special glands on the abdominal terga and other body parts of many planthopper nymphs secrete wax.[4] The wax produced by planthoppers is water-repellent and serves to hide the insects.[2]
Although the gear mechanism at the base of nymphs' hind legs had been recognized for many years, its function was only recently explained.[3] Phytoplasmas, which inhabit plant phloem, are often transmitted by planthoppers, making the insects common vectors for plant diseases.[5] Fossil evidence includes extinct planthopper taxa like Emiliana from the Lutetian-age Green River Formation in Colorado.[6] Both adult and nymph planthoppers extract plant sap by sucking, and nymphs excrete large amounts of honeydew that frequently supports sooty mold growth.[7]
Lethal yellowing, a palm disease that nearly eliminated the Jamaican Tall coconut, is spread by the pest species Haplaxius crudus.[7]
What the cited sources add
It states that planthoppers are related to aphids and the nymphs are sometimes mistaken for woolly aphids, but planthoppers hop.[1] The same source describes nymphs of several species cloaking themselves in a dense tangle of waxy, white "fluff" and congregating in groups or "colonies"[1] It adds that planthoppers usually have little impact on the overall health of landscape plants and seldom become more than a nuisance pest.[1] However, the account reports a recurring infestation of citrus flatid planthopper (Metcalfa pruinosa) causing noticeable damage to climbing hydrangea in a county park.[1]
The Bug Bytes article recommends killing planthopper nymphs with insecticidal soap applications or a standard insecticide labeled for the host plant.[1] Boggs (2016) describes planthopper adults as 1/4 to 3/8 inch long, colored purplish blue, lime green, or powdery white, and notes they hold their broad wings vertically like a tent to cover their body sides and legs.[1]
References
- Boggs, Joe, "Planthoppers", Bug Bytes, 14 June 2016. facts only, no text reused. bygl.osu.edu
- Wikipedia, "Planthopper" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dietrich, "Encyclopedia of Insects", Academic Press, 2009, p. 56–64 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Planthopper" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sander, "Bau und Funktion des Sprungapparates von Pyrilla perpusilla Walker (Homoptera – Fulgoridae)", Zoologische Jahrbücher: Abteilung für Anatomie und Ontogenie der Tiere Abteilung für Anatomie und Ontogenie der Tiere; Burrows, "Interacting Gears Synchronize Propulsive Leg Movements in a Jumping Insect", Science, 2013, p. 1254–1256 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Planthopper" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Boggs, Joe, "Planthoppers", Bug Bytes, 14 June 2016 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Planthopper" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lee, "Phytoplasma: Phytopathogenic Mollicutes", Annual Review of Microbiology, 2000, p. 221–255 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Planthopper" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Shcherbakov, "The earliest find of Tropiduchidae (Homoptera: Auchenorrhyncha), representing a new tribe, from the Eocene of Green River, USA, with notes on the fossil record of higher Fulgoroidea", Russian Entomological (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Planthopper" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Boggs, Joe, "Planthoppers", Bug Bytes, 14 June 2016; Brown, "Detection and variability of the lethal yellowing group (16Sr IV) phytoplasmas in the Cedusa sp. (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Derbidae) in Jamaica", Annals of Applied Biology, 2006, p. 53–62 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Planthopper (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Arthropods
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Planthopper (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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