A new sharpshooter threatens both crops and ornamentals

Abstract

A Adult glassy-winged sharpshooters are brown to black with yellowish spots on their heads and are about 112-inch long. The smoke tree sharpshooter (facing left) is slightly smaller, and has wavy white lines on its head instead of spots. b Glassy-winged sharpshooter nymphs are smaller and lighter colored than the adults. The glassy-winged sharpshooter (Homalodisca coagulata), an in-sect that has recently invaded California, and the smoke tree sharpshooter (Homalodisca lacerta) are creating serious new economic problems in both agri-cultural and ornamental plantings. The greatest threats surround their ability to spread the plant-pathogenic bacterium Xy lella fast idiosa, which induces Pierce 's disease in grapevines, almond leaf scorch disease, and a new disease known as oleander leaf scorch. Because of the potential distribution and large host range of the glassy-winged sharp-shooter, other diseases caused by different strains of X. fastidiosa may have an even greater impact on the state's agricultural and or-namental landscape industries in the future.