The Potato/Tomato Psyllid

There are approximately 1,000 species of psyllids (or jumping plant lice) in North America. Most feed on woody plants such as trees and shrubs. However, one occasionally pestiferous psyllid for herbaceous crops is Bactericera cockerelli, the potato/tomato psyllid.

Potato/tomato psyllids overwinter in Mexico, the lower Rio Grande River Valley of the U.S., and other locations in the southwestern U.S., and move northward in the spring. The adults can appear in Nebraska as early as late May, depending on southern temperatures and wind patterns. Potato/tomato psyllids have a large host range and feed on many plants in the family Solanaceae, especially potato, tomato, pepper, and eggplant. While feeding on sap, the adults may transmit a pathogen known as ‘Candidatus Liberbacter solanacearum’ (the causative agent of zebra chip disease). The nymphs, while feeding, inject a toxin into plants that results in chlorosis and stunting, a condition known as psyllid yellows.