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National Invasive Species Information Center
U.S. Department of Agriculture
  1. Home
  2. Terrestrial Invasives
  3. Terrestrial Invertebrates
  4. Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter

Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter

Scientific Name

Homalodisca vitripennis (Germar) (Formerly known as Homalodisca coagulata) (Takiya et al. 2006)

Common Name

Glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS), xylophagous leafhopper

Native To

Southeastern U.S. (Hoddle et al. 2003)

Date of U.S. Introduction

Introduced to California by 1990 (Blua et al. 1999)

Means of Introduction

Probably arrived in California on nursery stock from the southeastern U.S. (Blua et al. 1999)

Impact

Vector of Pierce's disease (lethal disease of grapevines) (Blua et al. 1999)

Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter

Glassy-winged sharpshooter on a grape leaf

Credit

Peggy Greb USDA, Agricultural Research Service

Source
USDA. ARS. Image Gallery.

Find more images

Spotlights

  • Zooming in on Sharpshooters and Spittlebugs

    • Jan 20, 2022

    • USDA. ARS. Down on the Farm.

    • In California's San Joaquin Valley, scientists from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have a sharpshooter, and the pathogen it spreads, in their crosshairs. ARS Scientists in California are devising strategies to combat pests that cause over $100 million in damage to the grape industry.
      See also: Down on the Farm archives

  • How Do You Confuse a Sharpshooter?

    • Aug 19, 2019

    • USDA. ARS. Tellus.

    • Rodrigo Krugner, an entomologist with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Parlier, California, has found an innovative way to control insect pests in California vineyards: tapping into the vibrational signals they use as mating calls.

      Krugner’s efforts have mainly focused on glassy-winged sharpshooters, which spread a bacterium that causes Pierce’s disease in vineyards and costs the California grape industry an estimated $104 million a year. Growers use chemical sprays to control the pests, but insecticides also kill beneficial insects, leave residues, and become less effective as the insects develop resistance.

Distribution / Maps / Survey Status

Videos

Selected Resources

The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source.

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Citations