Candy-Striped Leafhopper

Description:

Candy-striped Leafhopper (Family Cicadellidae) Greetings, BugFans, The candy-striped leafhopper (CSL) (Graphocephala coccinea) is one spiffy little insect – easily overlooked, but once seen, unforgettable. Because of its coat(s) of many colors (there are a number of sub-species to be reckoned with), it has a bunch of common names, like candy-striped, scarlet and green, red-banded, and red-and-blue leafhopper. The BugLady loves common names because they tell us what the non-scientific admirers of a plant or animal think about it. CSLs have yellow legs, a yellow head with a black racing stripe through the eyes, and a bright blue/green and red/red-orange-striped thorax and wings. The genus name, Graphocephala, comes from the “cuneiform” markings on the heads of several of the species in the genus (another genus in the family is Draeculacephala, whose name means “dragon’s head” and whose mostly-green members have pointy, conical heads.).