I’ve found two of these little leafhopper nymphs recently but was waiting for verification from the national recorder before posting about them. I recorded them as Issus coleoptratus but the recorder has changed them to Issus species.

The recorder is the expert, I certainly am not an expert but, in this case, I do think these are Issus coleoptratus, and here’s why. According to the Naturespot website entry for this species, there is only one confusion species, which is the much rarer Issus muscaeformis. Naturespot also includes excellent macro photographs of the identification features to look for on a nymph, which are more than 7 sensory pits on its back and pale horizontal bands on the frons (face), both of which I can see in my photos.

I will just have to look for the adult leafhoppers when they appear between June and November and hope that they will convince the national recorder. Meantime, I’m still really pleased to have found a new-to-me leafhopper species.