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LEAFHOPPER
Leafhopper is a common name applied to any species from the family Cicadellidae. Leafhoppers, also known as hoppers, are minute plant-feeding insects in the superfamily Cicadelloidea in the order Hemiptera. Recent classification within the Hemiptera has placed the members of the archaic "Homoptera" into two new suborders: Sternorrhyncha (aphids, whiteflies, scales, psyllids...) and Auchenorrhyncha (cicadas, leafhoppers, treehoppers, planthoppers...). The name Auchenorrhyncha is itself likely to be replaced, as research indicates it is not a monophyletic group.

Leafhoppers are found all over the world, and it is the second largest family in the Hemiptera; there are at least 20,000 described species. Leafhoppers have piercing sucking mouthparts, they feed on plant sap and can transmit plant-infecting viruses and bacteria. Species that are significant agricultural pests include the potato leafhopper, beet leafhopper, white apple leafhopper, two-spotted leafhopper, and glassy-winged sharpshooter. A Leafhoppers' diet commonly consists of plant sap from a wide and diverse range of plants. Leafhoppers mainly consume vegetation but have been known to indulge in small insects such as eepids.


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