Potato leafhopper biology & life cycle
Adults and nymphs are piercing and sucking insects. They insert their beaks into the underside of potato leaves and suck out plant juices, causing the leaves to appear stippled or speckled; and if infestations are heavy leaves turn yellow from the tip. Leafhopper injury reduces production and translocation of photosynthate. Like aphids, leafhoppers also secrete honeydew, a sugary liquid on the leaf surface. They also frequently transmit virus diseases. Damaging populations do not occur every year, and migratory behavior of the adults from weedy areas makes it difficult to predict when economic populations may develop. Leafhopper life cycles consist of egg, nymphs, and adult. Eggs are laid on the underside of leaves. Nymphs and adults feed on many crops and weeds, often feeding first on weeds around the margins of potato fields. Overwintering generally occurs as eggs.
