leafhoppers

Aphrodes is a genus of typical leafhoppers. It occurs in Europe, Asia, and North America. In the United States it occurs in the east from Maine to New Jersey, west to Minnesota and Illinois, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to North Carolina. It also occurs on the West Coast from northern Washington to southern Oregon.

There are 23 or 24 Aphrodes species worldwide, at least 3 species in North America north of Mexico, and at least 1 species in Minnesota.

Adults and nymphs are usually found on the ground. They probably feed on grasses and grass roots.

The top of the head (vertex) is broadly angled and projects well forward of the eyes. The crown usually has a distinct longitudinal ridge in the middle. The simple eyes (ocelli) on the front margin are slightly closer to the compound eyes than they are to the vertex. The vertex is densely and conspicuously grooved (striate). The striations are irregular, wrinkle-like, and are parallel with the rear margin of the vertex (transverse).

The body is yellowish-brown. On the male, there is a contrasting yellowish band across the exoskeletal plate on the first segment of the thorax (pronotum). The pronotum is densely and conspicuously grooved (striate). The striations are irregular, wrinkle-like, and longitudinal.

Leafhoppers in the genus Aphrodes are variable in both color and markings, and males appear very different than females. They are best identified by noting the species on which they feed, or by dissection and examination of the male genitalia.

Sources

24, 29, 30, 82, 83.

Medler, John T. (1942). The leafhoppers of Minnesota. University of Minnesota. Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station. Retrieved from the University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/204089.

Aphrodes leafhopper

This critter is very variable in color.

Aphrodes, a leafhopper, photographed at Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI on October 5, 2022.

Location: Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI

This critter is very variable in color.

Aphrodes, a leafhopper, photographed at Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI on October 5, 2022.