Tag Archives: leafhopper

Leafhopper: Rhytidodus decimusquartus

24 Thursday Oct 2024

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Though we missed the worst of it here in south-east Wales, last Sunday was a miserable day, the rain and gusty winds of Storm Ashley blasting across the British Isles. Luckily for me, the gloom was much cheered by an email verifying my recent record of this leafhopper, Rhytidodus decimusquartus.

241024 Rhytidodus decimusquartus (1)

It’s always good to have records of new species identified but, in this case, I was particularly chuffed as this was a rare sighting. The Aderyn biodiversity database shows no previous Welsh records, though, when I checked the NBN Atlas to see how many other British records there were, I found one record from 1985 in north Wales (I’m not sure why that’s not showing in Aderyn), and just 30 other British records.

241024 Rhytidodus decimusquartus (2)

I’m sure you’ll agree that Rhytidodus decimusquartus (previously known as Idiocerus decimusquartus) is a handsome little beastie, just 6-7mm long. The British Bugs website warns that leafhoppers in this group can be very tricky to identify but ‘This species has one unique feature that allows definitive identification: the vertex and pronotum have fine transverse ridges’, and these ridges were clearly visible in my photographs. I’ve now found at least four species of leafhopper on the Lombardy poplars where this little one was lurking so I’ll be heading back very soon to see what other wonders I might discover amongst their leaves (if the leaves are still on the trees after all that wind).

Leafhopper: Populicerus confusus

07 Saturday Sep 2024

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I found this little leafhopper a few weeks ago but it sometimes take a while for the verifiers to check records (that’s not a criticism – they are almost all volunteers, and I am hugely grateful for their efforts). And, to be honest, I wasn’t sure this would be accepted as I read on one website that the species could only be identified by examination of its internal genital structure. Fortunately, that didn’t prove necessary in this case.

240907 Populicerus confusus (1)

So, meet Populicerus confusus (also known as Idiocerus confusus), a leafhopper that can be found throughout Britain, living on the various species of willow (Salix species), usually in the damp environments preferred by those trees. The two I spotted quite close together were on a young willow at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park.

240907 Populicerus confusus (2)

Like most members of the Cicadellidae family, Populicerus confusus is small, between 5 and 7mm in length. It is mainly yellow-green, with rusty colouring on the inside of its forewings and, often but not always, a brownish posterior. The adult leafhoppers can be seen from June to October.

Leafhopper: Ribautiana tenerrima

28 Tuesday Nov 2023

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Over the years I’ve seen many small green-looking leafhoppers on Bramble and, knowing that small green-looking leafhoppers can be very difficult to identify, I’ve tended to ignore them. Last week, when Bramble-leaf-turning, I noticed that these little hoppers had some quite subtle markings on their backs (some with more saturated colour than others) that might help to distinguish them from others of their kin and, as they were keeping relatively still, I was able to get some photos (though grainy due to the dim light).

231128 Ribautiana tenerrima (1)

These have now been confirmed as Ribautiana tenerrima sensu lato, one of the most common species in Britain, that can be seen on Brambles and several other plant species between June and December. As there are other very similar Ribautiana species, for recording purposes, where we can’t distinguish one from the other, we use the catch-all name Ribautiana tenerrima sensu lato, with sensu lato meaning ‘in the broad sense’.

231128 Ribautiana tenerrima (2)

Leafhopper: Populicerus sp.

28 Monday Aug 2023

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I found a new leafhopper species last week but, despite it having quite distinctive markings, I have not been able to identify it exactly. This is because there are several that look very similar and, even knowing the tree or plant they are on (in this case, Poplar), doesn’t help. One needs to examine their genitals to figure these little leafhoppers out.

230828 Populicerus sp (1)

There are five species of Populicerus showing in the Welsh database (Populicerus confusus, P. populi, P. albicans, P. nitidissimus, and P. laminatus), only four of which have been recorded in Wales (the first four in my list) and, of those, the numbers, except for P. confusus (64) are in single digits. That is likely to be a reflection of the difficulty of identifying the species rather than the populations of these leafhoppers.

230828 Populicerus sp (2)

All five species have similar markings but three have different colouring. However, Populicerus populi and P. laminatus are so similar that they require more intimate examination – the creature I found, the leafhopper shown here, is one of these two.

Leafhopper: Typhlocyba quercus

31 Monday Jul 2023

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How adorable is this little leafhopper? And, even better than being adorable, its markings mean it is instantly recognisable as Typhlocyba quercus, the ‘quercus’ indicating that its preferred tree is the Oak, though it will also live on other trees.

230731 Typhlocyba quercus

A new leafhopper

31 Tuesday May 2022

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Brownish? Check. Pale veins? Check. ‘The vertex has two streaks at the anterior edge which may join in the middle’? (You can’t really see this in my photos – I had to enlarge them to find them. Also, if, like me, you aren’t familiar with the anatomy of a leafhopper, the British Bugs website has an illustrated page of bug bits.) Check. ‘And there is an orange-brown transverse band behind this’? Check. ‘The anterior of the pronotum has variably dark markings’? Check.
Six checks is a winner! This little leafhopper, a new find for me, is Speudotettix subfusculus. Look for it on trees, especially Oak trees.

220531 Speudotettix subfusculus

Another new leafhopper

16 Monday May 2022

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This new-to-me leafhopper, from Saturday’s woodland wander, has now been confirmed by the national recorder as Arboridia ribauti. When I checked the Aderyn database, I found there have been only two previous Welsh records, both in the Brecon Beacons. It’s amazing what a little leaf turning can turn up!

220516 Arboridia ribauti

L is for leafhoppers

17 Friday Dec 2021

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Given my frequent recent posts, you might have been forgiven for thinking that I would choose leafmines for the letter L, but no. Leafhoppers, more formally known as the Cicadellidae, are another family of insects I sometimes dabble in but am determined to look more closely at in 2022 as there are so many species lurking under leaves that I have yet to discover. Back in July, I blogged about the first new species I was able to add to my list for 2021, Eupterycyba jucunda.

211217 Eupterycyba jucunda

And, more recently, on 28 November, I found another, Linnavuoriana sexmaculata. Once again, this was found by turning over leaves, in this case one of the Salix genus – willows, sallows, osiers, as we more commonly call them. Though some species of leafhopper can be tricky to identify, both its host plant and the bug’s markings (sexmaculata means six-spotted) made this one a little easier.

211217 Linnavuoriana sexmaculata

A new leafhopper

13 Tuesday Jul 2021

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I just happened to be examining the leaves of a local Italian alder tree on Saturday (looking for signs of the Crypturaphis grassii aphids I found on this tree last December) when I spotted first one, then another, then several more leafhoppers, all with quite distinctive markings so, of course, I took photos. When I later checked the British Bugs website, I was able to identify them as Eupterycyba jucunda, a new species for me.

The website notes that this species is ‘found predominantly on alder in England and Wales, as far north as Lancashire’, and that the adults can be seen between July and October. Looking at the photos on the website, I think the small black-and-white objects I also saw (photos below) are actually the empty exuvia of Eupterycyba jucunda nymphs. Fascinating!