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Sticker of Japanese leafhopper
Bug card No. 2391 of 4,939

Japanese leafhopper

Orientus ishidae
Eats: PlantsTrue bugs and cicadasGardens and meadows6 legs

The Japanese leafhopper is a tiny jumping bug. Its front wings have a pattern like a mosaic made of little tiles. It has an orange band between its eyes.

Lives in
East Asia, and it has spread to North America and many European countries
Length
4.5 to 6.5 mm (0.18 to 0.26 in)
Top speed
about 0.9 km/h (0.56 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless to people. It can harm trees and spread a disease in grapevines.
What does it eat?
It sucks sap from willow, hornbeam and many other trees and woody plants.
For real!Photo of Japanese leafhopper
Picture by Hectonichus. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Japanese leafhopper about 6.5 mm long (0.26 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)
small enough to sit on your fingernailcould run across a dinner table in 4 secondsmoves 38 times its own body length every second

How big is Japanese leafhopper compared to YOU?

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How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

When its babies feel danger, they lift their tails up in the air.

2

Its babies are brightly coloured, and no two look exactly alike.

3

It was first found in the United Kingdom in 2011, in London.

4

You can see the grown-ups from June to October.

you asked

Most asked questions about Japanese leafhopper

?Is the Japanese leafhopper harmful?

Not to people, but it can damage tree leaves and spread a disease in vineyards.

?How big is the Japanese leafhopper?

It is tiny, only about half a centimetre long.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Orientus ishidae
Group
True bugs and cicadas
Family
Cicadellidae
Classification
Insecta > Hemiptera > Cicadellidae
Lives on
Asia, North America, Europe
Also known as
Mosaic leafhopper

Where the facts come from

  1. Orientus ishidae (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Hectonichus. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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