Why is Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter a threat?
The Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter damages a variety of plants and spreads lethal diseases to crops such as almonds and grapes for which there are no known cures. It also dehydrates plants it feeds on, draining life-giving fluids from plants and trees such as oak, hydrangeas, citrus, dogwood, apples, eucalyptus and snapdragons and many more. Scientists do not know the extent of damage caused by this water loss. But we do know that a citrus grove infested by Glassy-Winged Sharpshooters needed a 25% increase in irrigation to keep the trees healthy and productive! An adult Sharpshooter can extract plant fluid equal to 200 to 300 times its body weight in a single day. This is the equivalent of an adult human drinking about 4,300 gallons of water per day! After the insect drains water from the plant, it excretes a liquid called “Sharpshooter rain” that leaves a white stain on anything outdoors, like plants, cars, sidewalks, and patio furniture.
