The development of immature stages on citrus seedlings was studied for the sharpshooter leafhoppers Dilobopterus costalimai Young, Oncometopia facialis (Signoret) and Homalodisca ignorata Melichar. The former two species are vectors of Xylella fastidiosa to citrus. Eggs of the three species are laid underneath the epidermis in the abaxial leaf surface. The Proconiini species (O. facialis and H. ignorata) coat their eggs with a whitish powder. Mean egg incubation periods at 25±2(0)C were 11.8 and 9.5 days for D. costalimai and O. facialis, respectively. Nymphal development was observed under fluctuating temperatures in a greenhouse after confining newly hatched first-instar leafhoppers on seedling stems inside leaf cages (54x42x12 mm). Five instars were observed and the mean durations of the nymphal stage were 64.7, 76.2 and 53.1 days for D. costalimai, O. facialis and H. ignorata, respectively.
Insecta; Auchenorrhyncha; Cicadellinae; leafhopper vectors; Citrus sinensis
