Seasonal distribution of the leafhopper Carneocephala floridana (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) in north Florida salt marshes

• Author(s): Rossi, Anthony; Strong, Donald;
• Abstract: The leafhopper Carneocephala floridana Ball is a common inhabitant of the salt marshes of north Florida. Although C. floridana is not usually economically important, increased agriculture and residential development in coastal areas may result in this insect becoming a more common pest species. Carneocephala floridana, like other members of this genus, is a likely vector of Pierces disease of grapes. This study documents the yearly distribution of C. floridana among its most common native host plants. Although C. floridana was present during every month of the year, it reached its highest densities during the spring and summer months on mixed herbaceous plant communities. It also exhibited smaller population peaks on some monocultures of smooth cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora Loiseleur-Deslongchamps, during the winter months, but these increases were most likely the result of immigration. Adult leafhoppers migrate from mixed herbaceous plant communities during the winter months, when these plants experience a substantial dieback, to patches of S. alterniflora. Moreover, marked adult C. floridana showed a greater tendency to disperse from monocultures of S. alterniflora compared with mixed herbaceous communities during the spring. This is consistent with previous studies, which indicate that this leafhopper tends to feed and oviposit on herbaceous plant species during the spring and summer months, a period when these plants exhibit vigorous growth.
• Publication Date: Nov 2001
• Journal: Annals Of The Entomological Society Of America