Life cycle (Leafhopper)

The commonest species on apple, Edwardsiana crataegi, overwinters as eggs laid in the autumn beneath the bark of twigs or small branches of fruit trees.

  • Eggs hatch in April to early May.
  • Nymphs feed until mid-summer.
  • New adults appear in late July and August, laying eggs in or near the mid-vein on the undersides of leaves.
  • Second generation nymphs occur from August onwards and become adults in the autumn.

Edwardsiana rosae has a similar life cycle but overwintering eggs are laid on rose.

  • Apple orchards are invaded by a migration of adults to summer hosts in June.
  • There is a return migration of second generation adults to rose to lay eggs in the autumn.