Dilobopterus costalimai

This is the sharpshooter found most frequently on citrus in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Adults are about 8 mm long, with a reddish brown base color of the upper body and distinctive black stripes and markings on the yellow-orange upper thorax and head. Groups of five or more eggs are laid internally on the lower leaf surface next to veins. Minute wasps (of the families Mymaridae and Trichogramatidae) may parasitize the eggs. Vespid wasp predators commonly attack nymphs and adults. Feeding is mostly on stems rather than on leaves. This insect may also be found on plants within groves as well as on citrus. Nymphs require 40 to 80 days to develop, with populations beginning to increase from mid-summer (February) to a peak just before the mid-winter dry season (July).