Homalodisca coagulata (Say), the Glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS) is currently the main vector of Pierce's disease in California. This invasive species was introduced into California in the early 90's and since then, it has established itself in Southern California reaching very high densities. By vectoring Pierce's disease, it has severely damaged vineyards in Temecula and it threatens table and wine grapes in other regions of the State. To manage GWSS and the disease it vectors, information on GWSS' biology, ecology and population dynamics is needed. We recover all GWSS stadia except eggs from a plant by using military parachutes to cover citrus trees, which are then fogged. Our results show that adult GWSS shift between different Citrus varieties in different seasons. In summer and fall, adult GWSS densities are similar on lemon and orange trees, whereas in winter, GWSS are found almost exclusively on lemon trees. A second aspect of our research seeks to explain these shifts in host plant choice by investigating correlations between insect densities and reproduction on a given host plant, and the physical and chemical properties of its xylem chemistry. We use a specially designed Schölander bomb to measure xylem hydrostatic pressure and to extract xylem for chemical analyses. We present density estimates and recruitment for each generation for all stages of GWSS on different host-plants.
Species 1: Homoptera Cicadellidae Homalodisca coagulata (Glassy-winged sharpshooter)
Keywords: population dynamics, Pierce's disease
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