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Japanese maple leafhopper

Japananus hyalinus[3]

The Japanese maple leafhopper is a small, distinctive leafhopper common on Japanese maples and other maples; it can be abundant enough to hear, but it doesn't seem to cause any signs or symptoms on its host plants.[1][2]

Group
Insect
Order
Hemiptera
Family
Cicadellidae
US records
41 states
Sources
3 cited
Updated
2026-10-19
Adult Japanese maple leafhopper on a leaf, with a pointed greenish-yellow head and clear wings crossed by reddish bands and veins
Adult Japanese maple leafhopper on a leaf, with a pointed greenish-yellow head and clear wings crossed by reddish bands and veins. Photo: Zygy, public domain (CC0), via iNaturalist
On this page
  1. Identification
  2. Where it lives
  3. Biology
  4. Damage and signs
  5. Health risk
  6. Control
  7. Related profiles
  8. Common questions
  9. Sources

How to identify it

  • Adults are about 3/16 inch long, with a pointed greenish-yellow head and whitish, see-through wings crossed by three rusty to dark brown bands.[1][2]
  • They are very active and jump or fly readily when disturbed; when they're abundant, their movement in a tree can sound like light rain.[1]

Where it lives

Apparently native to Japan, it was probably brought to North America on Japanese maple nursery stock in the late 1800s and was first described from the United States in 1900; it has since reached Australia.[1][2]

US map: public records from 41 states since 1990 (GBIF).

Biology and life cycle

It spends the winter as eggs inserted under the bark near buds on the newest twig growth; the tips of the eggs sometimes show through the slit.[1]

Nymphs hatch in spring and feed on the undersides of leaves in the shadier parts of the tree, passing through five stages.[1]

In North Carolina adults are out from June through October, and there are probably at least two generations a year.[1]

Besides Japanese maples, it feeds on boxelder and Norway, red and silver maples.[1]

Damage and signs

  • It doesn't seem to produce any signs or symptoms on its host plants, and it hasn't been found causing significant damage in Australia either.[1][2]

Health risk

It feeds only on maple sap; NC State and NSW DPI mention no risk to people.[1][2]

Control

Prevention

No control is needed since it causes no visible damage; yellow sticky traps will catch adults if you want to confirm they're there.[1][2]

Common questions

What are the little banded insects jumping off my Japanese maple?
Probably Japanese maple leafhoppers, which have a pointed greenish-yellow head and rust-banded wings and jump readily when disturbed.[1][2]
Are Japanese maple leafhoppers hurting my tree?
No. NC State notes they don't seem to cause any signs or symptoms on their host plants.[1]

Sources

  1. NC State Extension, “Japanese Maple Leafhopper.” content.ces.ncsu.edu/japanese-maple-leafhopper (accessed 2026-10-19)
  2. New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, “Japananus hyalinus (Osborn), Japanese maple leafhopper (leafhopper identification key).” idtools.dpi.nsw.gov.au/keys/cicadell/species/japananus.htm (accessed 2026-10-19)
  3. iNaturalist, “Japananus hyalinus taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/222462 (accessed 2026-10-06)

Updated 2026-10-19. Built from sourced records. Spot an error? Tell us.