Versute Sharpshooter

Besides the Candy-striped Leafhopper (Graphocephala coccinea quadrivittata), we also have the Versute Sharpshooter (Graphocephala versuta) in our yard. Versute means "crafty; wily; cunning; artful." I'm not sure how those adjectives apply to this particular leafhopper.

The specimen I found had faded colors, but some will have brighter ones. Here are some diagnostic features:

-  forewings green with several black tooth-like markings at apex
-  pale blue stripe (sometimes bordered on both sides by an orange stripe) runs diagonally from anal angle to base of costa, continuing along margin of pronotum to front of head
- scutellum yellow with several thin black lines (spread out like veins)
- pronotum green
- top of head orange or light brown, with pale blue medial stripe
- abdomen yellow

This specimen was resting on a sunflower leaf (Helianthus annuus).

Note: Like other sharpshooters, G. versuta can transmit bacteria, causing Pierce's Disease in grapes, and Bacterial Leaf Scorch in deciduous trees.

References:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/10022
http://naturalhistory.museumwales.ac.uk/sharpshooters/browserecord.php?-recid=612
http://www.insectsofwestvirginia.net/h/graphocephala-versuta.html
http://www.virginiafruit.ento.vt.edu/PDsharpshooters.html
https://beaumont.tamu.edu/research/agroecosystems/Grapes/PierceDis.htm
http://www.usna.usda.gov/Research/BacterialLeafScorch.html