Buffalo treehopper

📖Overview

Stictocephala bisonia, the buffalo treehopper, is a small membracid treehopper with an enlarged, helmet-like pronotum that gives it a bison-like profile. Adults and nymphs feed on plant sap using piercing-sucking mouthparts. They occur on a wide variety of deciduous trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants and may reach pest levels in orchards, vineyards and nurseries where egg-laying scars in twigs can weaken young trees. Native to North America, S. bisonia has also become established in parts of Europe. They are not dangerous to humans.

🔍How to identify a buffalo treehopper

Adults are wedge-shaped with a large pronotum that extends backwards over the body and has two short, pointed horns at the front corners, giving a bison-like profile. They are roughly 6-9 mm long. Colouring is typically bright green to yellow-green, often with fine pale speckling. Wings are held roof-like over the body. Nymphs are wingless, spiny and often more uniformly green or yellow, becoming darker as they mature.

1. Pronotum shaped into a humped 'helmet' extending over the body, with two short horns at the front corners, giving a bison-like silhouette
2. Small, 6-9 mm length and bright green to yellow-green colour, often with fine pale speckling
3. Wings held roof-like over the back; when disturbed they jump quickly but do not bite
4. Nymphs wingless and flattened, found clustered on new growth

Lookalikes

↻Life cycle

1. 🥚

   Egg

   Eggs are laid in slits in stems or twigs by females in late summer; eggs overwinter in plant tissue.

2. 🐞

   Nymph (immature)

   Nymphs hatch in spring and go through several instars while feeding mostly on herbaceous plants such as weeds, grasses and legumes; they are wingless and often gregarious when young.

3. 🐞

   Adult

   Adults develop in late spring to early summer, mate and lay eggs; there is usually one generation per year in cooler areas, sometimes more in warmer regions.

🍃Diet and predators

🌱Effect on plants and gardens

Nymphs feed mainly on sap of herbaceous plants such as weeds, grasses and legumes, while adults also feed on trees and shrubs. Feeding causes little harm; the main damage comes from females cutting egg-laying slits in the bark of young twigs, which can scar bark, cause twig dieback and weaken young orchard trees and nursery stock.

How to get rid of buffalo treehoppers

Inspect twigs of young trees for the curved double rows of egg-laying scars, and prune out heavily scarred twigs in winter. Control weeds and legumes in and around young orchards, since nymphs develop on these plants. Encourage natural enemies (birds, predatory insects and parasitic wasps). Dormant oil applied in late winter can reduce overwintering eggs in twigs. For commercial orchards, follow local extension guidance on targeted insecticides; avoid broad-spectrum insecticides that harm beneficials unless necessary.

📍Where and when to find it

Look on leaves, stems and new shoots of deciduous trees, shrubs, grapevines and garden plants. Nymphs are often on underside of leaves and on tender growth; eggs are in slits in woody stems.

✨Fun facts

• The 'bison' or 'buffalo' name refers to the humped pronotum with two short horns, which resembles a bison's head and shoulders.
• Treehoppers can produce substrate-borne vibrations to communicate with mates and relatives.
• Although they look odd and sometimes numerous, each adult is only a few millimetres long.

?Frequently asked questions

📷Photos of the buffalo treehopper