Fields should be scouted about 10 days after the first application to assess the need for a second application. While the damage they create is not as dramatic as an alfalfa weevil outbreak, leafhopper damage is more chronic and widespread. Many farmers are unaware of the significance of PLH damage, which is often blamed on the hot, dry weather that accompanies it. Leafhoppers feed on a wide variety of host plants, including edible beans. Biological controls have not been very effective.
Leafhoppers migrate annually from the Gulf States on weather front air currents.
The adults lay a few eggs per day in the alfalfa stems and petioles, which hatch about 9 days later. They resemble adults, except they are wingless and are often found on the underside of the leaves. The generation interval is short, with about 25 days from egg laying to the adult stage. This gives the leafhopper the ability to have an explosive population growth. PLH are killed by frost in the fall.