Coppery Leafhopper - Blog Posts
Coppery Leafhoppers (Jikradia olitoria), nymphs, taken May, 2025, in Georgia, US
A small collection of J. olitoria nymphs to showcase how variable they can be, even when found in the same place! Even with all this color, some colorations are still missing—green and brown most notably. Despite their highly variable colors, these nymphs can still be easily IDed due to shared pattern traits and their signature curled posture, which they only share with a few other leafhoppers (in the US and Canada). I feel like a Pokémon collector trying to collect all the forms of this species' nymph when I put them all side by side like this lol!
Coppery Leafhopper (Jikradia olitoria), nymph, taken May 18, 2025, in Georgia, US
Some out of focus images of my son because I love him so much.. I saw him again yesterday on the same plant, so he must like it where he is lol. Even after seeing tons of these guys, I still can't get over how cute they are, especially as nymphs! Their large, charismatic eyes, bright colors, and little dances have captivated me, I fear.
Coppery Leafhopper (Jikradia olitoria), nymph, taken April 12, 2025, in Georgia, US
A teeny leafhopper nymph on a flower stem! My favorite leafhopper species is finally returning for the year! I can't wait for these nymphs to grow larger and gain their bright colors. The ones in this area tend to be orange and green, though nymphs of this species are highly variable, also coming in yellow, tan, brown, black, red, and white. All young nymphs look like this individual, being very dark brown and, in later instars, gain their unique colors!
Coppery Leafhopper (Jikradia olitoria), female, taken August 24, 2024, in Georgia, US
Quite plain looking, but one of my favorite creatures in the life... This is a female leafhopper ovipositing (laying eggs) into the bark of an oak tree!
The ovipositors of Cicadomorphans (cicadas, leafhoppers, treehoppers, and spittlebugs) are reinforced with metals like manganese, zinc, and iron to make them strong enough to saw into bark, stems, and—in the cicada's case—straight into the woody branches of trees! These are some of my favorite insects, and J. olitoria is a local I've grown fond of seeing.
Here is the paper that goes into depth about the structure of the cicada ovipositor!