Abstract

                                Jassids, popularly known as leaf-hoppers, belong to the category of bugs. These are tiny, active wedge-shaped creatures, infesting a variety of cultivated crops. The adults and nymphs are provided with a set of piercing and sucking mouth-parts with which they are able to puncture the tender portions of the plants and suck up the nutrition. The bugs usually occur by millions on their respective hosts and despite their minute size, they are capable of causing an enormous drain of the cell-sap. Over eight species of these jassids have been recorded as crop pests in South India, the more serious forms of which are (1) The paddy jassid (Nephotettix bipunctatus, F.), (2) the mango hoppers (Idiocerus Atkinsoni, L.) and (3) the cotton jassid (Empoasca devastens, D.). The present article is about the last mentioned species.

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