White-Backed Planthopper vs Spotted Wing Drosophila

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute White-Backed Planthopper Spotted Wing Drosophila
Scientific Name Sogatella furcifera Drosophila suzukii
Order Hemiptera Diptera
Family Delphacidae Drosophilidae
Size 3-4 mm 2-3 mm
Habitat Farmland Farmland
Diet Sap Feeders Fruit Feeders
Regions Asia, Australia, Pacific Islands Asia, worldwide (invasive)
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

White-Backed Planthopper

A small delphacid planthopper with a distinctive white dorsal stripe on an otherwise brown body. It is a major rice pest that migrates long distances on monsoon winds.

💡

Did You Know?

It can travel over 1,000 km in a single migratory flight by riding monsoon winds, colonizing new rice crops far from its origin.

Spotted Wing Drosophila

An invasive fruit fly from East Asia with a saw-like ovipositor that lets it lay eggs in ripening (not rotten) fruit — devastating soft fruit crops worldwide since its spread in 2008.

💡

Did You Know?

Unlike most fruit flies that only attack rotting fruit, this species cuts into perfectly ripe fruit with its serrated ovipositor — causing billions in crop damage globally.