Jikradia olitoria

Previously classified under the genus Coelidia, now placed in Jikradia. The species can be distinguished from other Jikradia species by morphological characters associated with the genus transfer and subsequent taxonomic revisions. Specific diagnostic features for field identification are not documented in available sources.

Found in Virginia vineyards (Frederick, Fauquier, and Loudoun Counties) and surrounding mixed vegetation including scrub, forest, and deciduous woodland. Collected from grapevines, vineyard floor, vineyard headlands, and vegetation immediately outside vineyards. Vineyard edge habitats appear particularly important for seasonal movement patterns.

Eastern North America, with confirmed records from Virginia, southeast Pennsylvania, and the Yadkin Valley of North Carolina. Distribution records also include Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, and Corsica (France), though the latter may represent vagrant or introduced occurrences. Core range appears centered in the eastern United States.

Adults collected from May through October. Seasonal movement into vineyard edges observed during this period. Laboratory studies used insects collected across this active season.

Phloem-feeding on plants. Demonstrated probing of artificial diet solutions (5% sucrose Tris-EDTA) in laboratory assays. Host plants include Vitis vinifera (grapevine), Hordeum vulgare (barley), and Trifolium repens (white clover).

• Vitis vinifera - host plantgrapevine; vineyard habitat
• Hordeum vulgare - host plantbarley
• Trifolium repens - host plantwhite clover
• Clitemnestra bipunctata - preyparalyzed and stored as larval food by this sand wasp; recorded as Coelidia olitoria

Adults present May through October. Laboratory studies indicate a 21-day latency period required for leafhoppers to become inoculative (capable of transmitting phytoplasmas) following acquisition access period on infected plants. Specific details of egg, nymphal stages, and overwintering strategy are not documented.

Seasonal movement from surrounding woodland and scrub vegetation into vineyard edges. Clustering of infected vines near vineyard edges suggests edge-mediated dispersal behavior. Phloem-feeding behavior enables phytoplasma acquisition and transmission. Artificial feeding assays demonstrated release of phytoplasmas during feeding.

Putative vector of 'Candidatus Phytoplasma pruni'-related NAGYIIIβ phytoplasma strains causing North American Grapevine Yellows. Potential disease vector linking wild and woodland vegetation reservoirs to cultivated grapevines. Prey species for the sand wasp Clitemnestra bipunctata, which paralyzes adults for larval provisioning.

Agricultural pest of concern due to role as vector of North American Grapevine Yellows, a destructive disease of grapevines affecting vineyards in Virginia and neighboring regions since the 1980s. First evidence of phytoplasma vector capability was established through artificial feeding assays in 2018.

• Other Jikradia speciesCongeners require morphological examination for differentiation; this species distinguished by historical taxonomic placement and association with Coelidia olitoria name
• Other Coelidiinae leafhoppersSubfamily members share general morphology; specific identification requires specialist examination of genitalia and other structural characters

• leafhopper
• vector
• phytoplasma
• grapevine yellows
• vineyard pest
• phloem-feeder

• BugGuide
• Wikipedia
• GBIF taxonomy match
• iNaturalist taxon
• NCBI Taxonomy
• Catalogue of Life
• Bug Eric: Wasp Wednesday: Clitemnestra bipunctata
• Jikradia olitoria([Hemiptera]:[Cicadellidae]) Transmits the Sequevar NAGYIIIβ Phytoplasma Strain Associated with North American Grapevine Yellows in Artificial Feeding Assays