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Sticker of Johnsongrass sharpshooter
Bug card No. 2413 of 4,939

Johnsongrass sharpshooter

Homalodisca insolita
Eats: PlantsTrue bugs and cicadasGardens and meadows6 legs

The johnsongrass sharpshooter is a leafhopper from the south of North America. Sharpshooters are slim little bugs that sit on plants and drink their juices. This one is slowly spreading north.

Lives in
Southern North America, spreading into the southeastern United States
Top speed
about 1 km/h (0.62 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless to people. It does not bite or sting.
What does it eat?
It drinks the watery juice inside plants through its straw-like mouth.
For real!Photo of Johnsongrass sharpshooter
Picture by Gordon C. Snelling Depicted place: Jonesboro, Craighead Co., AR, USA ( 35°56′25″N 90°38′50″W  /  35.940316°N 90.647354°W  / 35.940316; -90.647354 ). CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It can carry a germ that makes crop plants sick.

2

It has been spreading north into the southeastern United States.

3

It belongs to the leafhoppers, small bugs that are very good at jumping.

you asked

Most asked questions about Johnsongrass sharpshooter

?Is the johnsongrass sharpshooter dangerous?

Not to people. But it can spread a germ that harms farm plants.

?Where does the johnsongrass sharpshooter live?

In southern North America, and it is moving into the southeastern United States.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Homalodisca insolita
Group
True bugs and cicadas
Family
Cicadellidae
Classification
Insecta > Hemiptera > Cicadellidae
Lives on
North America

Where the facts come from

  1. Homalodisca insolita (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 Gordon C. Snelling Depicted place: Jonesboro, Craighead Co., AR, USA ( 35°56′25″N 90°38′50″W  /  35.940316°N 90.647354°W  / 35.940316; -90.647354 ). CC BY 4.0, 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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