Scolypopa australis is quite a charming name for an Aussie bugger in the garden. 

This hopper is extremely common in the northern warmer parts of the North Island but has been known to be a problem as far south as Nelson and Marlborough. 

The overwintered eggs hatch in spring (October-November) as tiny little "fluffybums", a name which describes exactly what they look like: small, frog-like bug nymphs with an ornate tuft of "nylon" tail fibres, implanted in their bottom. If you look at them under the microscope, you'll suddenly see that these fluffybums have a somewhat melancholic look on their faces; the inherent sadness of an Australian, out-of-place, in a foreign country. 

As soon as the little nymphs hatch they will suck plant material through their tubular mouth parts. The phloem is where it's all at: sweet nutritious sap that courses through the veins of the host plant. Of course the excreta of the fluffybums is that sweet sticky honeydew, an unmistakable diagnostic symptom of so many sap-sucking insects. 

From late January onwards the nymphs go through their final moult and turn into adult insects (passionvine hoppers), complete with wings. You can find these adults well into May. 

The adult hoppers are a wee bit more mobile than in their larval stages: not only can they still jump, but they now also have the power of sustained flight, albeit feebly. 

The damage caused by both the fluffybums and the adult hoppers can be substantial. Distorted growth of the plants they attack is merely one result of their mainlining activities, the deposit of honeydew and secondary sooty mould causes severe headaches to growers of export produce. It is unclear as to whether the bugs transmit virus diseases from plant to plant, but the possibility can as yet not be ruled out. 

When they feed on the poisonous sap of the native tutu (Coriaria arborea), they literally pass on the toxic substances and add it to the honeydew. Bees that may forage on this honeydew incorporate it in the honey stored at the hive, and although the tutu sap is not toxic to either passionvine hoppers or bees, it is pretty dangerous to humans! 

CONTROL/PREVENTION 

It’s almost impossible to “spray” the passionvine hopper in summer – they simply avoid the spray by “flicking and flying” away. 

But in the early weeks of development the nymphs are so small, that no-one really notices them, yet this is the time when chemical or even organic control would work the best. A simple misty spray with Pyrethrum or even synthetic pyrethroids would control the majority of the very small, and still susceptible nymphs. When you try to spray them at a later, larger stage, you'll notice that they try to escape the toxic clouds by simply jumping away from the danger zone. 

So, have a look at your plants that are usually covered with passionvine hoppers and see if they need treatment; 

Now is the time to do it! 

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