coppery leafhopper

Common

June to September

Total Length: ¼″ to 5⁄16″ (6 to 8 mm)

Coppery leafhopper is a common, medium-sized, slender leafhopper. It occurs throughout the eastern half of the United States and in adjacent Canadian provinces. In Minnesota it has been recorded only in the southeast quarter of the state. Little is known of the biology of leafhoppers in the subfamily Coelidiinae. Coppery leafhopper is said to feed on woody species. In 1975 it was suggested that the subspecies Jikradia olitoria floridana was a vector of strawberry pallidosis. This was later rejected when in 2006 the greenhouse whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum was discovered to be the true vector of the disease.

Coppery leafhopper adults are ¼″ to 5⁄16″ (6 to 8 mm) in length and variable in color. They are usually light brownish-gray to medium brownish-black, sometimes dark and bluish, sometimes entirely light brownish-yellow. Females always have pale wing bands. Males are always dark brown or rusty brown and have no pale bands.

The head is narrower than the exoskeletal plate covering the thorax (pronotum). It is broadly rounded in front and is crowned just in front of the eyes. There are two large compound eyes and two tiny simple eyes (ocelli). The antennae are short and bristle-like. The plate on the lower face (clypeus) is long and narrow with parallel sides.

The pronotum does not extend over the abdomen. The width in the middle equals the width of the crown. The plate between the wing bases (scutellum) is large and triangular. It is slightly longer in the middle than the pronotum is wide.

There are two pairs of wings, and they are held tent-like over the body when at rest. The forewings (hemelytra) are thickened and long, extending almost to the tip of the abdomen. The veins on the hemelytra are distinct. The hindwings are thin, membranous, a little shorter than the hemelytra, and concealed beneath the hemelytra.

The fourth segment (tibia) of the hind leg has two rows of spines. The last part of the leg (tarsus), corresponding to a foot, has three segments.

Plant juices from the stems and leaves of woody plants

Sources: 24, 27, 29, 30, 82, 83.

This species was formerly classified as Coelidia olitoria. All New World species were transferred into the new genus Jikradia in 1979. The genus Coelidia now contains only Old World species.

There are two subspecies of coppery leafhopper. Only one, Jikradia olitoria olitoria, occurs in Minnesota.

Location: Woodbury, Minnesota

Location: Woodbury, Minnesota

Location: Woodbury, Minnesota

Location: Woodbury, Minnesota

Location: Woodbury, Minnesota