Plant Hopper

Planthopper is basically a member of several insect families of the order named Homoptera. Like a lanternfly, the grasshopper’s hollow and enlarged head extension may appear luminous and hence they are easily recognized. The planthoppers feed on plant juices and they excrete honeydew which is actually the sweet by-product of its digestion.

We take up the topic of Plant Hopper, in order to update the knowledge on the same vividly. Here, we will extensively talk about Plant Hoppers, how it is different from a leafhopper and other varied topics that will be dealt with simultaneously.

Plant Hopper

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What are Planthoppers? 

In this world, there are more than 12,000 species of planthoppers that vary in characteristics like colour, markings, geographic location and specific plant preferences.

Planthopper Insect

A planthopper is basically an insect in Fulgoromorpha infraorder. Their name comes from the green leaves and other plants of their environment and from the fact that these insects often "hop" for quick transportation. Generally, planthoppers will walk very slowly. Worldwide, all members of this group are normally plant-feeders, while a few are considered pests.

Planthoppers Hopping in Your Garden Can Be Destructive!

You definitely saw a few of these species ‘hopping’ in your garden. Some might do little damage while others are proved to be quite destructive. Planthoppers in the garden feed themselves by piercing the plant cells and thereby sucking the contents out of that plant. Some of these planthopper species can also damage plants by transferring diseases. In a further section, we will discuss ‘how to get rid of Planthoppers?’

Size of a Plant Hopper

Planthoppers do range in size from 1 cm (which is 0.4 inches) in cooler climates to a maximum of 5 cm approximate in the tropics. Planthoppers are not considered serious economic pests. Hopper species are covered with either a mealy substance or with waxy filaments. The members of this family are variously known as fulgorid, mealy flata, lightning leafhopper. 

How to Get Rid of Planthoppers?

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We will point down several ways by which you can try to eliminate planthoppers from your garden:

1. Without priorly resorting to harsh chemicals, you might be able to get rid of them with a strong blast of water from the garden hose. This is not to be done if you have planted delicate trees.  

2. You can use insecticidal soap, this is a safe, non-toxic insect killer which will not harm plants, humans or your pets. Mix the spray according to the directions to be followed on the package.

3. While spraying insecticidal or any chemical spray do not miss out on the undersides of the left, where the planthoppers may tend to hide. 

4. Yellow sticky traps can be used to remove quite a good number of planthoppers from the garden. You can purchase these traps for fixing in the garden centre or you can also make your own by coating yellow index cards with any sticky substance.

Taxonomy

A planthopper is an insect that belongs to the infraorder Fulgoromorpha, in this suborder Auchenorrhyncha, and this exceeds 12,500 described species worldwide.

Planthopper

• Phylum: Arthropoda

• Class: Insecta

• Order: Hemiptera

• Suborder: Auchenorrhyncha

Leafhopper

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A leafhopper is a common species of the family name Cicadellidae. They are minute insects characterised as hoppers. They are plant feeders which suck the plant sap from grass, shrubs, or from trees. They use their hind legs for jumping, they are covered with hairs that facilitate the spreading of a secretion over their bodies, this feature acts as a water repellent and carrier of pheromones.

Leafhoppers go through the process known as a partial metamorphosis; for this, they have various host associations, which vary from very generalized to very specific type hosts. Some of these species have a cosmopolitan distribution, which means they occur throughout the temperate and the tropical type regions.

How Do You Spot a Leafhopper?

Hoppers are characterized as agile insects which can move with great ease either forwards or backwards, or via sideways imitating a crab. They also perform crab-like motion which distinguishes these hoppers from most of the other common insects. In addition to this, they can hop to escape any danger or to move to another host plant to such content from that plant.

Life Cycle of a Leafhopper

The adults of most species of a leafhopper range between 1/8 to 1/4 inch long. They are very slender and have frequently angular, pointed heads. The colouration of a leafhopper depends on its varied species, but generally, the leafhoppers are in the shades of - green, brown, or yellow that is often mottled. The Nymphs (which are still immature) look quite similar to the adults except the nymphs are smaller and they don't have wings. Nymphs suck the underside of leaves, where the humidity is quite high and they are even more protected from predators.

The leafhoppers have several other generations each year. Some of their species migrate southwards in winter and then return north in the late springtime.

Taxonomy

Leafhopper

• Kingdom – Animalia

• Phylum – Arthropoda

• Class – Insecta

• Order – Hemiptera

• Superfamily – Membracoidea 

• Family - Cicadellidae

Process of Stippling

Feeding damage from these species causes small white spots (called stippling), it appears on the upper leaf surface, this usually begins near the midrib of the leaf.

Stippling Causing Harm to The Leaves

Stippled areas can together unite into larger whitish blotches on the mature leaves. With some plants, feeding damage causes even drying and yellowing (it may even cause browning) of leaf margins, this may affect the whole leaf as well. Some of the leafhopper species cause curling of the leaves, they can cause stunting of the same. Another sign of feeding - the presence of tiny varnish-like spots of their sweet excrement on the underside of leaves. Check under the leaves for white and papery cast skins that might remain from the excretion process.

Other Insects Causing Stippling – Lace Bugs and Spider Mites

Lace bug is another insect that causes this stippling from feeding and also causes the leaves to have dark droplets of varnish-like excrement on the underside of leaves. Lace bugs are different from leafhoppers:

Lace bugs have a lacy pattern that is present on their upper side, they avoid jumping or running sideways, and they are not as broad as they are long. Another pest causing stippling is - spider mite. Again, check the underneath of leaves for any webbing left by the spider mites (while leafhoppers don't leave webbing).

White-Backed Planthopper

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White-backed planthopper exploits the rice farms when the rice plant is initially growing in their nurseries. The rice is more sensitive at the tillering and heading stages. White-backed planthoppers damage rice crops through feeding and oviposition.

Cotton Leafhopper

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Amrasca biguttula is the scientific name for Cotton leafhopper, they are commonly known as the cotton jassid. This is a subspecies of the leafhopper which belongs to the subfamily called Typhlocybinae under the family Cicadellidae. This pest affects cotton or okra, it also affects some other crops in southern parts of Asia.

What Do They Look Like?

An adult cotton leafhopper or jassid is a long and slender insect, they measure about 2.6 mm (which is 0.1 in) in length. They are yellowish-green, with a conspicuous black spot on either side of their head, also they have this spot on another tip of the forewing. The head of this insect is pale green. They have membranous wings which are transparent and iridescent. On the leaf surfaces, these insects tend to move about in a diagonal pattern. If their path is disturbed it immediately jumps and then flies away.

Taxonomy of The Cotton Leafhopper

• Kingdom: Animalia

• Phylum: Arthropoda

• Subphylum: Hexapoda

• Class: Insecta

• Order: Hemiptera

• Suborder: Auchenorrhyncha

• Infraorder: Cicadomorpha

• Superfamily: Membracoidea

• Family: Cicadellidae

• Subfamily: Typhlocybinae

• Tribe: Empoascini

• Genus: Amrasca

White Plant Hopper

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Clusters of fluffy, the characteristic feature of the white planthopper. They are the nymphs which are appearing on the stems of annuals, perennials, and on the lower branches of trees and shrubs in southern Ohio. These planthoppers belong to the family called Flatidae (in order - Hemiptera and suborder - Auchenorrhyncha). They are at times referred to as the "flatids."  The planthopper adults are about 1/4- 3/8" long, they are purplish-blue, lime green, or in powdery white texture. They hold their broad wings vertically, it seems to be in a tent-like fashion, this covers the sides of the body and their legs.

Hopper Plant

The other name of planthoppers is Hopper Plant.

Wax to Protect Their Eggs

Nymphs of many fulgoroids produce wax from their special glands on the abdominal parts and other parts of the body. These are hydrophobic which help to conceal the insects. The Adult females of many families produce wax which may be used to protect their eggs.

Spread of Plant Diseases

Hopper plants are often the vectors for the plant diseases, disease like phytoplasmas is transmitted via a hopper plant. They can transmit this disease while they feed on these plants.

Extinct Members 

There are a number of extinct members of Fulgoroidea which are known from the fossil record, like the Lutetian-age Emiliana from the Green River Formation in Colorado.

Feeding Process

Both the planthopper or hopper plant adults and the nymphs feed themselves by sucking on the sap from the plants. In doing this, the nymphs produce a large quantity of honeydew.

Did You Know?

• Planthoppers are known as cryptic mimics: they have a body shape and colours which look like leaves of another plant; they look similar as if they are part of the environment. They either walk very slowly or simply just hop like grasshoppers.

• Their nymphs have a special biological gear mechanism which is the base of the hind legs, this keeps the legs in synchronization movement when the insects jump.

• Leafhoppers can easily reach 0.25 to 0.5 inches in length.

• Most of the leafhoppers are brown, green and yellow in colour. 

• Leafhoppers have blunt heads and slender bodies with a pair of wedge-shaped wings. 

• Leafhoppers are herbivorous insects.

• Leafhoppers excrete a sweet substance that is actually harmful to plants.

So, as studied, planthoppers are the laterally flattened insects that hold their broad wings vertically, this gives an appearance of a tent-like fashion. We have studied the variety of planthoppers. We can now confirm that a planthopper and a leafhopper is widely different in every perspective. Be it appearance or life.

These green leafy insects known as planthoppers are actually adorable but they might turn out to be an enemy if you are a garden lover. To get rid of the same, you can follow the tips as discussed earlier. Also, we have studied what pain the white-backed planthoppers cause to the farmers. The farmers planting the rice must take professional help in order to save their crops in the two crucial stages of rice production.