planthopper

[plant-hop-er, plahnt-]

noun

1. any member of a large and varied group of homopterous insects that are related to the leafhoppers and the spittlebugs but rarely damage cultivated plants.

Word History and Origins

Origin of planthopper¹

plant + hopper

Example Sentences

Native to China, this striking, black-and-red planthopper showed up in the U.S. for the first time in 2014, perhaps stowed away on an international shipment of decorative stone bound for Berks County in eastern Pennsylvania.

Read more on National Geographic

The planthopper was thought to be accidentally imported to Berks County, Pa., in 2014, presumably in a shipping container from Asia.

Read more on Washington Post

Native to Asia, the large, colorful planthopper sucks sap from valuable trees and vines, weakening them.

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The study represents researchers’ first attempt to quantify the destruction caused by the large, colorful planthopper.

Read more on Seattle Times

In the wake of the Green Revolution, insects such as the rice hispa and the brown planthopper, which had never before posed a significant problem, devastated rice crops in several Asian countries.

Read more on Scientific American