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(Sophonia rufofascia [Kuoh & Kuoh]): This polyphagous leafhopper was first detected on Oahu in June 1987, subsequently spreading to the other major islands over the next five years. Originally described from tea and rice in China, S. rufofascia has been recorded from more than 290 host plants in Hawaii, including several commercially important food and ornamental crops. It is regarded as a major pest of guava, is a suspected vector of plant pathogens, and has been implicated in the die-back of forest plants important in maintaining watersheds. Damage to hosts varies, ranging from chlorosis to browning and death of foliage, and may be caused in part by hosts' reactions to a toxic saliva injected by the leafhopper. Extremely little
published information is available on the biology of any Sophonia
species, a group that is distributed throughout the
Oriental and Australian regions, and through parts of
Oceania. Again, although exploration in southern China in
1993 failed to discover potential control agents, the
leafhopper ranks high on the state's priority list of
insects targeted for biological control. |
Twospotted leafhopper