Species of the Month August 2021

Green Leafhopper Cicadella viridis

 

The Green Leafhopper is a common and distinctive insect, found in damp grassland during the summer. The females have bright turquoise coloured wings, while the males have darker blue wings which can appear black; both have yellow faces with black markings. They are large for leafhoppers, though at 6-8mm long they are still quite small!

There are a lot of leafhopper species found in the UK (nearly 300 species), but the colouration and markings of this species make it easy to identify. The best way to find them is walking through long grass at suitable sites and looking for them jumping out of the way. If you have trouble getting a good look, you can catch an individual with a net to check you have found the correct species.

You can find more images and information from Naturespot, Spittlebug Survey and British Bugs

Green Leafhopper is present on suitable habitat throughout south east Wales, but we only hold 305 records at SEWBReC; you can view the Wales wide distribution on Aderyn.

If you spot Green Leafhopper during August (or at any other time of year), please send us the record, ideally via SEWBReCORD or the LERC Wales App. Instructions on how to submit records are available here.