Explanation of Names
Latin acutus 'sharp' (probably refers to the sharply-pointed wingtips)
the common name refers to the leaping ability of nymphs (mature nymphs can leap as far as 60 cm)
Size
adult wingspan ~25 mm; nymph body to 5 mm (Mau & Kessing 1993)
Identification
Adult: green and triangular, with pink eyes and pointed head; forewings have many veins and cross veins, mimicking a leaf, and cover the body like the sides of a sloping roof when the insect is at rest
Nymph: first two instars are light green, relatively flat, with waxy filaments on posterior abdominal segments, and covered with white powder or dust; later instars lose their powdery coating, develop markings of red, black, and green, and change their ground color three times; the waxy abdominal filaments are significantly reduced
Range
native to Australia, adventive elsewhere (New Zealand, Hawaii); established in CA
Life Cycle
eggs are laid on stems or leaves in a dome-shaped masses of >100 eggs glued together and partially covered by a dark, semi-transparent cement produced by the female; eggs hatch in 10-20 days; 5 nymphal instars; adults live for ~2 months (Mau & Kessing 1993)
Click on an image to view the life cycle:
Remarks
earliest NA record: CA 1983
(1)
not considered a pest in CA; considered a pest of banana, citrus, coffee, guava, macadamia, and many ornamentals in HI
