Acinopterus angulatus, a newly discovered leafhopper vector of California aster-yellows virus

Abstract does not appear. First page follows.

Introduction

In five papers (Severin (1929),3(1934), (1940), (1945), (1946) presented evidence that ten leafhopper species and a biological race of one of these species (1940) transmit the California aster-yellows virus. The present paper deals with the transmission of the virus by the leafhopper Acinopterus angulatus Lawson. The characters, distribution, and food plants of this leafhopper are discussed in a companion paper by (DeLong and Severin (1946)).

On May 27,1935, adult Acinopterus angulatus were first collected on Spanish-clover, Lotus americanus, growing along the banks of the Salinas River near San Ardo. During the winter, all of these insects died. In 1936, other adults were taken in fields of alfalfa, Medicago sativa, near Soledad in the Salinas Valley; and since then high populations have been reared from them, and maintained on healthy and diseased celery. In a companion paper, (DeLong and Severin (1946)) give additional food plants of this leafhopper.

The color of the adults varies from brown (plate 1, A, C) to dark brown (plate 1, B) and yellowish brown (plate 1, D). A more detailed description of the color pattern of various parts of the body and wings is given in the accompanying paper by (DeLong and Severin (1946)).

An investigation was undertaken on the transmission of the California aster-yellows virus to celery or asters by single males and females, and by lots of varying numbers of adults. Experiments were conducted to determine the latent period and the retention of the virus in the adults. Attempts were made to transmit the viruses of curly top and Pierce’s disease of grapevines by means of Acinopterus angulatus. One leafhopper described as a new species in the genus Acinopterus by (Beamer (1944)) failed to transmit the virus.