Amongst the many creatures I found during this weekend’s intensive focus on Common fleabane at two local sites, two species were new to me, which was very exciting. This is the first, the leafhopper Eupteryx melissae, which I’m particularly delighted about as I haven’t found a new leafhopper species for quite a while and, as I’m sure you’ll agree, this one is a stunner.

According to the British Bugs website, there are two Eupteryx species that look very much alike, this one and E. decemnotata. The features to check are the markings on the top of the head, the vertex, and the top of the body, the pronotum. Eupteryx melissae has ‘three large more or less rounded spots on the vertex and six smaller spots along the anterior of the pronotum, with an irregularly-shaped greyish area behind this’, exactly as shown in the photo below.

I was a bit surprised to read that Eupteryx melissae has the common name Sage leafhopper, and is the most common leafhopper found on Sage, as this one was on the underside of a leaf of Common fleabane and there was definitely no Sage growing in the field. The British Bugs website says it also feeds on other members of the mint family, the Labiatae or Lamiaceae – the Wildflower Finder website has a handy list – but I’m struggling to think which of these were in yesterday’s field; there may have been some Selfheal and possibly Hedge woundwort.