They look like cicadas, as you can see in the picture, but smaller (it is about 1cm long). They are named after their red stripes. They have spikes on their legs.
When they drink sap from trees, the juice goes to their digestive system, and the water goes to their butt and shoots from there with a pop. This is why they are sometimes called “sharpshooters”.
Red-banded leafhoppers transmit bacteria that can kill trees: elm and oak, they give them the Pierce’s disease, which is sometimes called leaf scorch disease.
I saw one in a bush in my backyard. An dour oak trees have scorched leaves, may be they are sick with Pierce’s disease?
It seems to me that it takes a lot of these leafhoppers to infect an oak
Wow Jon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That’s interesting and funny! I haven’t seen one of these insects before but that might be a good thing.
Thank you! If you have oak trees, they must be healthy!