First report of corn leafhopper (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) in the USA midwest suction trap network.

Authors: LAGOS-KUTZ, DORIS - Illinois Natural History Survey; PLASENCIA, ISABEL - University Of Illinois; DIETRICH, CHRISTOPHER - Illinois Natural History Survey; LAFOREST, JOSEPH - University Of Georgia; MCCORNACK, BRIAN - Kansas State University; HODGSON, ERIN - Iowa State University; VILLANUEVA, RAUL - University Of Kentucky; SEITER, NICHOLAS - University Of Illinois; MCMECHAN, ANTHONY - University Of Nebraska; CROSSLEY, MICHAEL - University Of Delaware; Clough, Steven

Submitted to: Journal of Economic Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/6/2025
Publication Date: 2/28/2025
Citation: Lagos-Kutz, D.M., Plasencia, I., Dietrich, C.H., Laforest, J., Mccornack, B., Hodgson, E., Villanueva, R., Seiter, N.J., Mcmechan, A.J., Crossley, M.S., Clough, S.J. 2025. First report of corn leafhopper (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) in the USA midwest suction trap network.. Journal of Economic Entomology. Article 1110.

Interpretive Summary: New sightings of the corn leafhopper in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma have alarmed field entomologists and plant pathologists because this invasive species (mostly present in Central and South America) is also an efficient vector of serious disease: corn stunt, caused by the bacterium Spiroplasma kunkelii. The sudden presence of this insect is a potential threat to corn production in the USA and has raised many questions about its disperse throughout corn country. Our 2024 sampling from the Midwest Suction Trap Network (STN) has identified that corn leafhoppers have spread to all the states of the network: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin. Our first detection was on 9 August 2024 and our last ones on 18 October 2024. The STN is an extraordinary tool to be used to monitor insects, as well as any diseases that they might vector. It is a long-standing monitoring system that has produced valuable information about the population dynamics, ecology, and natural history of multiple insect taxa such as aphids, thrips, leafhoppers and mosquitoes. This information is also of value to integrated pest management programs that need to know real-time changes of insect population behaviors to know what control measures to recommend.

Technical Abstract: Corn leafhopper, Dalbulus maidis (DeLong and Wolcott) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), is native to Central and South America, but invasive in the United States. This species is a threat to corn, one of the main crops of economic importance in the US, because it is also a vector of three pathogens that cause the corn stunt disease complex: corn stunt spiroplasma (CSS), maize bushy stunt phytoplasma (MBSP), and maize rayado fino virus (MRFV). Therefore, monitoring the dispersal of this pest is necessary to document its geographic expansion and anticipate the incidence of corn stunt disease. Based on trap catches obtained from the Midwest Suction Trap Network in 2024, corn leafhopper populations increased late in the growing season in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. We will continue to monitor the dispersal of this invasive species through the Midwest Suction Trap Network to provide information to researchers, extension agents, and producers regarding this agronomically important pest.