Differential Injury to Alfalfa by Male and Female Potato Leafhoppers12

Virgin and mated adult female, Empoasca fabae (Harris) did about the same amount of damage to alfalfa, Medicago sativa L., plants, and both did significantly more damage than males in 3 tests, 1 made in a greenhouse and 2 made in a growth chamber. The eggs from virgin females were apparently infertile, but the rates of oviposition of virgin and mated females were about the same. The greater damage done by the females may be the result of oviposition, but greater feeding rate of the females was not eliminated as a factor.