Beet Leafhopper vs Creeping Water Bug

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Beet Leafhopper Creeping Water Bug
Scientific Name Circulifer tenellus Ilyocoris cimicoides
Order Hemiptera Hemiptera
Family Cicadellidae Naucoridae
Size 3-3.5 mm 12-16 mm
Habitat Farmland Ponds & Lakes
Diet Sap Feeders Predators
Regions Western North America, Mediterranean, Middle East Europe
Conservation Not Evaluated Least Concern

Beet Leafhopper

A small pale green to tan leafhopper that transmits curly top virus to sugar beets, tomatoes, and beans. It breeds on desert weeds and migrates to cultivated crops.

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Did You Know?

Curly top virus transmitted by this leafhopper nearly destroyed the sugar beet industry in the western United States in the early 1900s.

Creeping Water Bug

A robust aquatic bug that crawls along pond bottoms and delivers a painful bite.

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Did You Know?

Its forelegs are powerfully built raptorial limbs for seizing prey.