Chrysoperla carnea
Green lacewing- Rate
- 2–20 /m² per release, weekly
- Temp
- 20–28 °C best; works above a 12 °C average
- Best for
- Green and brown lacewings are on UC's predator list; not a tested release
Pest
Leafhoppers
Cicadellidae (Empoasca fabae, Edwardsiana rosae and others)
The short answer
Leafhoppers are small, wedge-shaped sap feeders that run sideways across a leaf and jump or fly off when disturbed. Most garden species just leave pale speckles on the leaves, and UC IPM says they generally need no control in gardens. The one that does real damage is the potato leafhopper, which blows north from the Gulf states each spring. Its toxic saliva yellows, browns and curls the leaf tips and margins of potatoes, beans and eggplant, a condition called hopperburn. On those crops, row cover and a well-timed pyrethrin spray are the practical controls.
hero macro · potato leafhopper adult on a bean leaf underside
Adult Empoasca fabae, pale green and wedge-shaped, on the underside of a bean leaf. Photo: pending.
Identification
Adults are long for their width, wedge-shaped and usually under 1/4 inch (6 mm). They are brown, grey, green or yellow, or a mottled mix. UC IPM's tell for the family is one or more rows of small spines along the full length of the hind legs. The potato leafhopper is pale green: about 1/8 inch (3 mm) in Kentucky's description and about 1/4 inch in UMass's. The rose leafhopper is pale yellow and 3.5–4 mm. Sharpshooters are the large end of the family, and the glassy-winged sharpshooter reaches about 1/2 inch.
Nymphs are wingless copies of the adults and move fast, running sideways 'in a crab-like fashion' (UMass) or round to the other side of the stem when approached. Both stages feed on the leaf underside, where the pale cast skins of moulting nymphs are often the first thing you find. Stippled leaves can also come from lace bugs, spider mites and thrips. Lace bugs leave dark varnish-like spots, and mites leave fine webbing.
Easily confused with
- Spittlebug adultsAlso a pestLeafhoppers have long rows of small spines along the hind legs; spittlebugs have only two stout spines plus a crown of spines at the tip.
- PlanthoppersHarmlessPlanthoppers carry only a few large spines on the hind leg, and their antennae arise below the eyes; they are rarely damaging.
- Lace bugsAlso a pestBoth stipple leaves, but lace bugs leave black, varnish-like specks underneath; leafhoppers leave pale cast skins instead.
- Spider mitesAlso a pestMite stippling sometimes comes with fine webbing; leafhoppers are wedge-shaped insects that run sideways or jump when disturbed.
Damage symptoms
Most leafhoppers leave a pale stippling on the leaves that looks worse than it is. The potato leafhopper does more than that. It feeds on the phloem and injects a toxic saliva that raises the plant's respiration, lowers photosynthesis and disrupts the vascular tissue. The result is hopperburn. UMass notes that feeding can cut yield before any damage is visible, that early and red potato varieties are more susceptible, and that beans are most susceptible when young. Some leafhoppers also spread plant disease: the aster leafhopper carries aster yellows, and the beet leafhopper carries curly top virus to beans, tomatoes, peppers, melons and potatoes.
- Pale specks (stippling) on the upper leaf surface, with cast skins beneath
- Hopperburn: yellowing, browning and curling that starts at the leaf tips and margins
- On potatoes, leaf margins that go brown and brittle, and foliage that dries up in heavy infestations
- On eggplant, yellowing and curling of the leaf margins, usually going no further
- Sticky honeydew and black sooty mould on some hosts
- Dwarfed, yellowed or crinkled plants where a leafhopper-borne disease such as aster yellows or curly top has been spread
Lifecycle & degree days
The life cycle depends on the species. The potato leafhopper cannot survive a northern winter. It overwinters in the southern US and blows north on spring storm winds, reaching New England in early to mid June, and it keeps breeding until frost kills it. Kentucky has three or four generations a year. The rose leafhopper stays put: it overwinters as eggs in the leaves and young shoots, which hatch in May; the nymphs reach adulthood in July and lay the eggs of a second generation. In mild climates, UC IPM notes, all stages of some species can be found all year. No home-garden degree-day model was found.
- Egg hatch
- 7–10 days (UKY); about 10 days (UMass)
- Nymph to adult
- About 2 weeks; whole life cycle about a month (UKY)
- Generations / yr
- 3–4 in Kentucky (potato leafhopper); 2 in Britain (rose leafhopper)
- Overwinters
- Potato leafhopper only in the southern US (Gulf states); most other species as eggs in plant tissue
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Host crops
Leafhoppers as a family feed on almost everything, but each species has its own range. The potato leafhopper favours legumes and potatoes, and also attacks eggplant, raspberries, apples, alfalfa and weeds such as smartweed and pigweed. Mowing nearby field crops such as alfalfa can make its numbers soar in vegetables. The rose leafhopper stays on roses and relatives such as hawthorn. The Ligurian and sage leafhoppers mottle sage, rosemary, lavender and mint. On grapes, Anagrus wasps are important egg parasitoids of the leafhoppers.
Monitoring & action thresholds
Action threshold
No garden threshold
UC IPM says leafhoppers generally need no control in gardens. For the potato leafhopper, UMass gives commercial figures: on potatoes, 1 adult per sweep or 15 nymphs per 30 leaves; on seedling beans, 2 adults per row foot; on beans from the third leaf to bud, 5 adults per row foot or 1 nymph per leaflet; and on eggplant, 1.5 adults or large nymphs per leaf. In a garden, what matters is timing: protect potatoes and young beans when the adults first arrive in June, before nymphs build up.
From late spring, shake or brush the foliage of potatoes and beans and watch for adults flying up 'like tiny green sparks' (UMass). Once nymphs appear the population is breeding. Check the undersides of the lower leaves for the fast, sideways-running nymphs. On roses and herbs, look under stippled leaves for cast skins. If leafhoppers were a problem last year, UC IPM advises starting to inspect for nymphs in late winter.
Beneficial
Biological control
UC IPM lists assassin bugs, brown and green lacewings, damsel bugs, lady beetles, minute pirate bugs and spiders as leafhopper predators. Egg parasitoids in the genus Anagrus are important on grape leafhoppers; a parasitised egg turns red or brown instead of staying clear. None of the sources read tested a purchased beneficial against leafhoppers, so the controls below are documented natural enemies to conserve, not proven releases, and no source credits them with preventing hopperburn on potatoes.
Orius insidiosus
Minute pirate bug- Rate
- 1–2 /m² per release; up to 10 /m² on hot spots
- Temp
- Best above 20 °C; 18–28 °C
- Best for
- Minute pirate bugs are on UC's predator list; conserve
Hippodamia convergens and others
Ladybugs- Kind
- Wild — attract it
- Best for
- Background predation; RHS and UC both list them
Anagrus spp.
Leafhopper egg parasitoids (fairyflies)- Kind
- Wild — attract it
- Best for
- Wild egg parasitoid; key on grapes, little help against hopperburn
Reduviidae
Assassin bugs- Kind
- Wild — attract it
- Best for
- On UC's predator list; background help, nothing to release
Nabidae (mostly Nabis spp.)
Damsel bugs- Kind
- Wild — attract it
- Best for
- On UC's predator list; background help, nothing to release
Cultural controls
For stippling on roses and herbs, tolerance is the answer: RHS notes that roses withstand large rose leafhopper populations, often with no effect on vigour or flowering. The potato leafhopper is different. Keep it off young plants in June, and choose less susceptible potato varieties.
- Cover snap beans with row cover until flowering, when they are less susceptible, and cover young eggplant
- Grow less susceptible potato varieties such as Katahdin, Russet Burbank, Russet Norkota, Ontario and Red La Soda
- Control weed hosts such as pigweed and smartweed around the vegetable garden
- Where you can, avoid mowing nearby alfalfa or other field crops while beans and potatoes are young
- On roses and herbs, tolerate the mottling and conserve the predators instead of spraying
Chemical, last resort
Sprays reach only what they touch, so cover the leaf undersides. Pyrethrins are highly toxic to bees and fish: never spray open flowers, and keep drift and runoff out of waterCheck any product before it goes on. Open the compatibility matrix →
- Insecticidal soapREI 12 h
- Azadirachtin (neem)REI 4 h
- PyrethrinsREI 12 h
Rating: the effect on this pest's natural enemies if a spray hits them or they feed on treated plants. REI is the re-entry interval on farm and greenhouse labels; home labels usually give none, so follow the label.
Sources
UC IPM, Leafhoppers (Home and Landscape; adapted from UC ANR Pubs 3359 and 3332)
UMass Extension Vegetable Program, Potato Leafhopper (rev. Shokoohi, Oct 2025)
Univ. of Kentucky ENTFACT-115, Potato Leafhoppers (Townsend; rev. 3/26)
RHS, Rose leafhopper (advice page)
UC IPM, Relative Toxicities of Pesticides Used in Cucurbits to Natural Enemies (05/2016)
UC IPM, Relative Toxicities of Insecticides Used in Pears to Natural Enemies (11/2012)
UC IPM PMGs: Cucurbits — Squash Bug, and Pear — Pear Psylla (REI columns)
NPIC, Pyrethrins General Fact Sheet (bee and fish toxicity)
UC IPM, Spittlebugs and Lace Bugs (Home and Landscape); Texas A&M Field Guide, Sharpshooter
Page status
Drafted from the sources below, then checked claim by claim against those sources on 23 September 2026.
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