Family: Cicadellidae
Subfamily: Deltocephalinae
Length: typically 6.0-6.5 mm
Adults Paraphlepsius leafhoppers are active in West Virginia for all but the coldest months of the year.
In a number of species in Paraphlepsius the two sexes look considerably different from each other, and in a number of cases early taxonomists described two species when it was really a case of the male and female of a single species.
Another confusing factor is that many Paraphlepsius leafhoppers are very similar to each other. Many species in the genus can only be identified by characteristics of the internal male genitalia.
Among the traits of the genus Paraphlepsius are: a head that is about as wide as the pronotum, or a little wider; small ocelli; a large scutellum with a prominent scutellar suture; the scutellum barely shorter than the pronotum.
Hamilton (1975) examined West Virginia specimens of these species:
- Paraphlepsius irroratus, widespread in West Virginia
- Paraphlepsius tennessa, collected at Pago, West Virginia
- Paraphlepsius collitus, collected at Fairmont and Newell
- Paraphlepsius incisus, collected at Morgantown and Aurora
- Paraphlepsius humidus, collected at Lost River State Park
In species of Paraphlepsius the femora have two dark bands. The ocelli are small and quite close to the compound eyes.
