What is a glassy-winged sharpshooter?
The glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS), Homalodisca coagulata, is an insect native to the southeastern United States and is a new threat to California’s crops and ornamental plants. This insect was first found in the southern part of the state in 1990, and it has been expanding its range northward ever since. GWSS vectors the pathogenic bacterium, Xylella fastidiosa, that causes Pierce’s disease of grapes and leaf scorch of almonds and oleander, as well as diseases of many other crop and ornamental plants. GWSS often produce copious amounts of liquid excreta when they feed. This liquid, known as “sharpshooter rain”, can be a nuisance in urban settings and can form chalky white deposits on citrus fruit resulting in a limited loss of commercial value. The glassy-winged sharpshooter is a member of the Order Homoptera in the group of insects known as the Auchenorrhyncha. Other insect representatives within the same order are cicadas, treehoppers, planthoppers, scales, spittlebugs and aphids
