Red-headed sharpshooters feed and breed only in areas where bermudagrass grows. They favor watergrass, bermudagrass, Italian rye, perennial rye, and fescue as host plants. The green sharpshooter prefers lush dairy pastures, permanent grasses, and areas that are continually irrigated. Green Sharpshooter and Red-Headed Sharpshooter It occurs in unusually high numbers in citrus and avocado groves and on numerous kinds of plants in irrigated ornamental landscapes, riparian areas, and native woodlands. Glassy-winged sharpshooter has become established in most of southern California and in the Central Valley from Bakersfield to Fresno.
Nymphs emerge in 10 to 14 days and proceed to feed on leaf petioles, small stems, and leaves while they progress through five molts before becoming winged adults. The dead leaf tissue remains as a permanent brown scar. Shortly after egg hatch, the leaf tissue that contained the egg mass begins to turn brown. The female covers the leaf blister with a secretion that resembles white chalk, making it easy to see. When it is first laid, the egg mass appears as a greenish blister on the leaf. Immature stages (nymphs) of the glassy-winged sharpshooter are smaller than the adult, wingless, uniform olive-gray in color, and have prominent bulging eyes.įemales lay their eggs in masses of up to 28 in the lower leaf surface of young leaves that have recently expanded. The head of the smoke-tree sharpshooter is covered with wavy, light-colored lines, rather than spots. lacerata), which is native to the desert region of southern California and slightly smaller in size. These spots help distinguish glassy-winged sharpshooter from a close relative, smoke-tree sharpshooter (H. The head is brown to black and covered with numerous ivory to yellowish spots. Adults are about 0.5 inch long and are generally dark brown to black when viewed from the top or side.
The glassy-winged sharpshooter is a large insect compared to the other leafhoppers. Populations of blue-green sharpshooter are always larger in natural vegetation than in vineyards. In August when grape foliage is less succulent, blue-green sharpshooters begin to move back to nearby natural habitats. Some of the nymphs become adults by mid-June, and the number of young adults continues to increase through July and August. Their movement into vineyards increases as natural vegetation dries up. In late winter and early spring, adults become active, and a small percentage begin moving into nearby vineyards for feeding and egg laying starting just after budbreak. The blue-green sharpshooter has one generation a year in most of California and a second generation in some parts of the state. Because it feeds on succulent new growth in areas of abundant soil moisture and shade, it is seldom found in unshaded, dry locations but also finds plants in constant deep shade unattractive. It can also be abundant in ornamental landscaping. The blue-green sharpshooter is most common along stream banks or in ravines or canyons that have dense growth of trees, vines, and shrubs. Mugwort, which is a perennial, is a major breeding host. It also feeds and reproduces on many other plants but prefers woody or perennial plants such as wild grape, blackberry, elderberry, and stinging nettle. The blue-green sharpshooter feeds, reproduces, and is often abundant on cultivated grape. In California they are found in coastal regions near riparian and landscaped areas. The blue-green sharpshooter has green to bright blue wings, head, and thorax, and yellow legs and abdomen, which are visible on the underside. Sharpshooters are in the same insect family as leafhoppers (Cicadellidae).
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