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Homalodisca vitripennis
| Resource Type | Organism |
|---|---|
| Genus | Homalodisca |
| Species | vitripennis |
| Common Name | Glassy-winged sharpshooter |
| Description | The Glassy-winged sharpshooter, GWSS, (Homalodisca vitripennis) [Hemiptera: Cicadellidae], occurs naturally within the southern United States. Once restricted to the southeastern states, it was accidentally spread across the south into California. The GWSS is a voracious feeder, and can fly long distances, preferring to feed upon cultivated crops, ie. Grapevine, fruit trees, and in the nymphal stages many weeds and grasses. The GWSS is a serious threat to the viticulture industry as the primary vector of the plant-infecting bacterium, Xylella fastidiosa, Xf. The GWSS feeds on a diverse number of plants, during which the bacteria can infect many tree fruit, nut, vine, and woody ornamental crops. Glassy-winged Sharpshooter adults are ½ inch (13mm) long being fairly large for the Sharpshooter leafhopper family of insects. Sharpshooters use an ovipositor to lay eggs inside of the underside of leaves. The Sharpshooter will lay its eggs on almost any plant including cactus. The egg masses are usually composed of 10-20 eggs, but can lay more or as few as 1. Most of the egg masses have a waxy coating of brocosomes around the eggs for protection. The nymphs (5 instars) do not have wings, but develop wing pads in the 5th instar and are generally smaller than the adults, ranging in size from .07 inches (2 mm) to nearly ½ inch (13mm) long. The nymphs have very distinct red eyes. The Sharpshooter can consume about 300 times its own weight in fluids from the xylem vessels of the plants upon which it feeds, thus producing copious amounts of excreta fluid. Data were generated by the Baylor College of Medicine's i5k pilot project. View the Baylor College of Medicine's data sharing policy. |
| Publication | Thomas GWC, Dohmen E, Hughes DST, Murali SC, Poelchau M, Glastad K, Anstead CA, Ayoub NA, Batterham P, Bellair M, Binford GJ, Chao H, Chen YH, Childers C, Dinh H, Doddapaneni HV, Duan JJ, Dugan S, Esposito LA, Friedrich M, Garb J, Gasser RB, Goodisman MAD, Gundersen-Rindal DE, Han Y, Handler AM, Hatakeyama M, Hering L, Hunter WB, Ioannidis P, Jayaseelan JC, Kalra D, Khila A, Korhonen PK, Lee CE, Lee SL, Li Y, Lindsey ARI, Mayer G, McGregor AP, McKenna DD, Misof B, Munidasa M, Munoz-Torres M, Muzny DM, Niehuis O, Osuji-Lacy N, Palli SR, Panfilio KA, Pechmann M, Perry T, Peters RS, Poynton HC, Prpic NM, Qu J, Rotenberg D, Schal C, Schoville SD, Scully ED, Skinner E, Sloan DB, Stouthamer R, Strand MR, Szucsich NU, Wijeratne A, Young ND, Zattara EE, Benoit JB, Zdobnov EM, Pfrender ME, Hackett KJ, Werren JH, Worley KC, Gibbs RA, Chipman AD, Waterhouse RM, Bornberg-Bauer E, Hahn MW, Richards S. Gene content evolution in the arthropods.. Genome biology. 2020 01 23; 21(1):15. |
| Organism Image |  |
| Image Credit | Reyes Garcia III. CCBYNC3.0. View Source. |