Potentially toxic leafhopper?

TheBeesKnees · Mar 11, 2014

My one mantis nymph (presumably a Hierodula of some sort) is wild caught, and I give her wild caught food from the garden as well as from a field around my house. I've been finding these unusually large, red leaf hoppers that are everywhere in my garden, and about four or five of these a day would make for an adequate meal. However, their coloration raises some red flags.

I've never heard of a leaf hopper having toxic properties to ward off predators by--but I've also never seen a leaf hopper look quite like this before:

The species name is Bothrogonia indistincta, and besides that, I can't find any information on these little buggers.

If no one knows anything about them or their potential to kill my girl with toxicity, then I'll just not risk it. It would be a shame, though. These guys are plump and plentiful (I mistook them for a flighty kind of beetle at first) and are apparently even bad for my garden!

PookaDotted · Mar 11, 2014

This is what I could find with my research

Are leafhoppers harmful to humans? Several species of leafhopper are serious agricultural pests. These include the potato leafhopper , beet leafhopper , white apple leafhopper , two-spotted leafhopper, and glassy-winged sharpshooter.

There have been a few anecdotal reports of leafhoppers biting humans, but these incidents appear to be accidental and rare. Interestingly, a researcher in Denmark (Lundsgaard, T. 1997. Virus Research 48: 35-40) recently found Filovirus-like particles in the salivary glands of a common European grass-feeding leafhopper, Psammotettix alienus (Dahlbom). The four previously described viruses of the genus Filovirus cause incurable diseases in humans, including a particularly gruesome one known as Ebola hemorraghic fever.

Are there endangered species of leafhoppers? The geographic distributions and abundances of most leafhopper species are so poorly documented that their conservation status is unknown. Nevertheless, some species associated with threatened habitats, such as North American tallgrass prairie, are officially listed as threatened or endangered by several U.S. states (see the following links for state lists: Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan,Minnesota, and Wisconsin). Dr. Andy Hamilton of Agriculture Canada in Ottawa has reviewed the conservation status of Canadian leafhoppers and their value as indicators of habitat quality.

Resource: http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/~dietrich/lfhFAQ.html

Pest Status, Damage: Very common and various species feed (with sucking mouth parts) on the juices of a wide variety of plants; occasionally injuring plants and transmitting plant diseases; medically harmless although adult leafhoppers are capable of biting, temporarily producing pain.

Whitish cast skins from developing nymphs are commonly associated with an infestation. Removal of sap from themesophyll or vascular tissues (phloem and xylem) and injection of toxic salivary secretions (e.g., proteinaceous fluid that clogs in the vascular tissues) during feeding activities cause leaves to develop yellow or clear stipples, spots or leaf portions that are visible on the upper leaf surface. Marginal chlorosis (yellowing) and necrosis (browning) of injured leaves is often called "hopperburn" or "tip burn." Injured leaves can fall prematurely. Some species cause terminal growth of injured plants to become curled and stunted. Heavily injured plant parts or plants can die. Egg-laying habits can also cause some plant injury.

Resource: https://insects.tamu.edu/fieldguide/aimg88.html

Ranitomeya · Mar 11, 2014

Many herbivorous insects can retain some of the chemical defenses of the plants they feed on. I'd avoid insects with aposematic coloration if you don't know what they're eating.

TheBeesKnees · Mar 11, 2014

@Pookadotted: I had found the same information during my search as well. Unfortunately, it doesn't tell me much as to whether or not they're harmful to predators who might otherwise want to snack on them! But now I just know for sure that I certainly wouldn't want to snack on them because ebola, apparently.

@Ranitomeya: This has been my sentiment exactly. I was hoping to get some proper information on this potential feeder, but the internet is completely dry! It seems a lot of leafhoppers are completely overlooked by the entomologist community (which doesn't surprise me, really...leafhoppers are not especially exciting)

"If you don't know just what it issss, don't put it in your moooouth!"

(Maybe only canadians will get this reference, sigh)