Beet leafhopper | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hemiptera |
Family: | Cicadellidae |
Genus: | Circulifer |
Species: | C. tenellus |
Binomial name | |
Circulifer tenellus (Baker, 1896) |
The beet leafhopper (Circulifer tenellus) is a species of leafhopper with a longer, thinner build than most. It is found across much of the United States and Mexico, in South Africa and from the countries around the Mediterranean Sea to Central Asia [1].
The beet leafhopper is the carrier of the dreaded curly top virus. A single feeding from a beet leafhopper can infect a nightshade plant like tobacco, tomato, chili pepper, or eggplant, infecting it and rendering it useless for agriculture.
Aside from some pesticides, the beet leafhopper can be managed by companion planting, it is repelled by marigolds, while both petunias and Pelargonium geraniums act as trap crops, drawing them away.