Bug FAQAster Leafhopper
Macrosteles quadrilineatus · Order: Hemiptera · Family: Cicadellidae
Source: Wikipedia
Adults are tiny, about 3.3 mm for males and 3.7 mm for females. They have grey-green fore-wings, a yellow-green abdomen, and six pairs of tiny black spots on the head. The whole life cycle lasts roughly four weeks, and eggs are laid on many grasses, cereals, carrots and other weeds.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The fore-wings are grey-green and the abdomen is yellow-green.
Source: Wikipedia
Is it a pest in the house?
It transmits aster yellows disease, which affects many vegetable crops, weeds and ornamental plants.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
In spring, strong southerly winds carry adults northward, where they often outnumber resident leafhoppers on grasses and cereals.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adults feed on carrot, dill, potato and radish plants.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
The complete life cycle takes about four weeks. Eggs are laid on many grasses, clovers, corn, oats, rye, carrots and other weeds.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Strong southerly winds in spring move adults northward across the country.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
The aster leafhopper is found in the United States.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 27 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Illinois, California, Massachusetts, Montana, Maryland, North Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What disease does the aster leafhopper spread?
It spreads aster yellows disease to a wide range of vegetables, weeds and ornamental plants.
Source: Wikipedia
How big is the aster leafhopper?
Males are about 3.3 mm long and females about 3.7 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
What do adult aster leafhoppers eat?
Adults feed on carrot, dill, potato and radish.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Cicadellidae)
Red-banded LeafhopperGraphocephala coccineaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Coppery LeafhopperJikradia olitoria
Green LeafhopperCicadella viridis
Glassy-winged SharpshooterHomalodisca vitripennisCan spread germs or disease
Rhododendron LeafhopperGraphocephala fennahiDamages trees, gardens or crops
Japanese LeafhopperOrientus ishidaeCan spread germs or diseaseSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrosteles_quadrilineatus
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.