Versute sharpshooter
This small leafhopper feeds only on the watery sap inside plant stems, piercing them with needle-like mouthparts built for that thin diet.
| Where | Gardens, meadows and woodland edges |
|---|---|
| Size | 5 to 6 mm body length |
| When | May to October |
The Versute sharpshooter is a small, fast-moving leafhopper with pale blue and orange stripes on its head and a soft green tone on the forewings. Fine, pen-like markings cross the top of its head.
It lives on garden and meadow plants across the United States and Canada, hopping or flying quickly when disturbed. Like related leafhoppers it feeds by tapping into the xylem, the tissue that carries water and nutrients up a plant.
Traits
Habitat
Garden
Colour
Blue, Orange, Yellow
Active
Day
To people
Feeds on plant sap and does not bite people; safe to observe up close.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Striped in red, blue and green rather than the softer pale blue and orange of the Versute sharpshooter, though both are close in length.
Questions
Is the Versute sharpshooter dangerous to people?
Feeds on plant sap and does not bite people; safe to observe up close.
When can you see the Versute sharpshooter?
The Versute sharpshooter can be seen from May to October, by day.
Plate retouched from a photo by Mark Richman, CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist Licence
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True bugs›Leafhoppers›Graphocephala
Last updated 2026-09-27. Every entry is checked against published sources.