Nymphal biology and anointing behaviors of Xestocephalus desertorum (Berg) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), a leafhopper feeding on grass roots

Nymphs of the leafhopper tribe Xestocephalini, not previously observed in nature, were assumed to be ground-dwelling myrmecophiles. Numerous nymphs of all instars of X. desertorum (Berg) were collected from the ground of a roadside meadow in Illinois, U.S.A., with a vacuum collector. Neither nymphs, nor adults appeared to be associated with ant nests. When kept in the laboratory, the nymphs fed on grass roots, and the adults both on roots and green parts of grasses; females oviposited in dead grass roots. The species is bivoltine in Illinois, with the egg stage overwintering. Like many other leafhoppers, after each molt, both nymphs and adults of X. desertorum cover the fresh integument with brochosomes: secretory particles produced in the Malpighian tubules. These poorly known behaviors are described and illustrated. Unlike in leafhoppers studied previously, the brochosomes of X. desertorum nymphs and adults differ in structure.