The Potato Leafhopper (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) Exhibits Different Settling Distributions on Alfalfa and Broad Bean

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Abstract
The settling behavior of the potato leafhopper, Empoasca fabae (Harris), was studied on broad bean, Vicia faba L., and on alfalfa, Medicago sativa L. When caged on broad bean, potato leafhoppers were evenly distributed between stems and abaxial surfaces of leaves. Use of abaxial leaf surfaces was very similar to what was expected based upon the relative availability of leaf surface area. In contrast, use of stems was much greater than their relative availability, suggesting a preference for settling on this site. Leafhoppers caged on alfalfa also preferred stems, but avoided abaxial leaves. However, we could not relate severity of damage symptoms to the proportion of time spent settled on alfalfa stems or leaves. These results show that the leafhoppers exhibited different settling behavior on the two hosts, and thus, the variability in feeding behavior reported in other studies extends also to settling behavior.

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