DESCRIPTION
Small (up to 5 mm long), slender, pale green or whitish insects that resemble tiny grasshoppers. When disturbed they hop (nymphs) or fly rapidly (adults)

DAMAGE
Leafhoppers feed on many fruits, vegetables and ornamentals, particularly grapes, roses, and Virginia creeper. Both nymphs and adults suck plant sap from stems and undersides of leaves, reducing plant vigour as well as lowering flower and fruit production. They also inject a toxic saliva which causes white mottling, tipburn and curling of leaves. Leafhoppers can transmit virus diseases from plant to plant.

LIFE CYCLE
Some species overwinter as eggs on bark of various plants, others as adults under debris and still others migrate south for winter. Feeding begins in early to mid-May by newly hatched nymphs as well as overwintering and returning adults. Wingless nymphs develop for several weeks before molting into winged adults. Adults lay eggs 2 to 3 weeks later, these hatch in 10 to 14 days. Some species have only one generation per year, other have 2 or 3 a year.

CONTROLS
• Clean up plant debris in fall to reduce overwintering adults.
• Apply dormant oil in March on host plants, as well as neighbouring plants, to smother overwintering eggs.
• Inspect plants frequently, beginning in early May, when grape leaves are about half size, by brushing with hands and watching for leafhoppers.
• Apply pesticides, making sure to get thorough coverage on the undersides of the leaves.
• Keep a pest journal for next year, recording host plants, controls used and when you first noticed pest in relation to another plant in bloom.

PESTICIDES
• Chemical-Diazinon, Latox or Cygon 2E at label rates in early morning or evening when leafhoppers are less active.
• Alternative-Pyrethrin, Safer’s Soap, Trounce or Rotenone at label rates in early morning or evening when leafhoppers are less active.