Family: Cicadellidae
Subfamily: Gyponinae
Length: 7.5-9.5 mm
Some forty-nine species of Gyponana live in America north of Mexico. Hamilton (1982) reported that five of these species are known only from single specimens.
Most species in Gyponana are pale green. Pale green specimens killed by cyanide, though, typically turn yellowish with orange or brown venation and markings.
Two eastern species of Gyponana are notable for their reddish to pink coloration: Gyponana octolineata and Gyponana gladia.
In Gyponana octolineata there are, as the scientific name suggests, eight lines on the pronotum. Usually the females have the pink or red coloration all the way from front to back, while on the males this coloration is usually limited to the front of the insect on the dorsal surfaces. As with many other Gyponana species, females on average are about 1 mm longer than males.
Gyponana octolineata's status in West Virginia isn't clear.
Gyponana gladia (shown here) is similar, but the wing reticulations are coarser, the red color more uniform across the insect, and the food plants are hardwoods rather than conifers. (Many thanks to Andy Hamilton for information about this species.)
As far as adults are concerned, these hoppers are present in summer through fall. The photos on this page were made in October.
Left: Females tend to have reddish coloration on their head, pronotum, scutellum, forewings, and legs. Occasionally an individual will have irregular patches of pink and green all over the dorsal and lateral surfaces.
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Right: Males are usually pale green with some red in the area around the wing bases, including parts of the pronotum and scutellum.
