Potato Leafhopper (Empoasca Fabae)

Empoasca fabae belongs to family Cicadellidae and genus Empoasca within order Hemiptera. They are more commonly referred to as the potato leafhopper. In North America they are a serious agricultural pest. They damages crops through direct feeding on the sap. While feeding, potato leafhoppers inject a watery saliva that includes an enzyme that reduces plant photosynthate movement. It is a piercing-sucking insect that causes injury referred to as “hopperburn.” This is characterized by necrosis of leaflets starting at the tips and margins resulting, with progress, in defoliation.