GrrlScientist is an evolutionary biologist, ornithologist, aviculturist, birder and freelance science and nature writer. A native of the Pacific Northwest, she relocated from Seattle to NYC with her parrots after earning a BS in Microbiology (emphasis in Virology) and PhD in Zoology (Ornithology) from the University of Washington. In NYC, she was the Chapman Postdoctoral Fellow at the American Museum of Natural History for two years, pursuing part of her "dream" research project by reconstructing a molecular phylogeny of the parrots of the South Pacific islands. GrrlScientist and her five parrots are currently relocating to Germany, where she will continue writing her blog while also writing a book and learning German. (Meanwhile, her parrots will continue to nibble on her extensive personal library.) If you appreciate GrrlScientist's writing, you can help pay her living expenses by hiring her to "blog" your conference, speak at your club or write articles for your publication (or by clicking on the Paypal button below). If you read an essay on this blog that you especially enjoyed, please nominate it for inclusion in 
tags: Rhododendron Leafhopper, Graphocephala fennahi, Image of the Day
I noticed you have been featuring insect images regularly on the blog. [This is] a pic of a Rhododendron Leafhopper, Graphocephala fennahi, that I took yesterday. These are quite common (but small, about 1/4 inch in length) cicadellids in North America, but have also colonized the UK and continental Europe after they were introduced (accidentally) in the UK about 70 years ago.
Image: David A. Rintoul, KSU [larger]
More about this species below the fold ..
Leafhoppers and their relatives, the cicadas, are insects that have long needle-shaped mouthparts. They often have two pairs of membranous wings, which are usually folded over the body in the shape of a roof. Their antennae are very short. Not only are most cicadas good flyers, many are excellent jumpers as well.
The adults lay their eggs in the unopened flower buds of rhododendrons in late summer and autumn. Often these eggs provide a point of entry for a fungal disease known as Rhododendron bud and twig blight, which kills the buds before they open. The eggs hatch the following April and the young nymphs, like the adults, feed on sap from the undersides of the leaves. The nymphs are difficult to see because they are nearly transparent.
These colorful insects are especially noticeable in the early morning when they sit in the sunlight to warm up their bodies. As you approach them they often jump away to safety. They make a "clicking" noise when they kick their long back legs against the leaves and launch themselves into the air. The adults have wings to help them move around, but they only fly distances of between one and three meters.
Currently, there are many taxonomic revisions occurring in this group of insects.
Comments
At last, something I have seen often!
Posted by: Tabor | July 30, 2007 5:49 PM
Do the leafhoppers benefit from the fungus infection? Do they hatch better in dead buds than in open flowers?
Posted by: Carl Manaster | July 30, 2007 7:47 PM
Keep up with the insects!
Posted by: Christopher Taylor | July 30, 2007 9:46 PM
carl; i don't think that the fungus has any effect on the leafhoppers. i think it is an accidental by-product of them making a hole in the plant's integument.
(but i will remind you that i am not a professional entomologist, even though i have taken a few classes and worked with (and kept) insects during part of my graduate career).
Posted by: "GrrlScientist" | July 31, 2007 12:27 PM