Distribution and Status: Worldwide. Widely distributed in Asia. Known from Malaysia, Indonesia, Burma, South Vietnam, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, China, Hong Kong, Philippines and Laos (Ghauri, 1971). Also found in the southern part of Japan.This species is known from Japan, Ryukyu Islands, Formosa, India, and the Philippines (Ishihara 1964 [390]). (Nielson,1968)

Host range: N. virescens appears to be completely restricted to rice. Inoue (1986) tested nymphal survival on 15 grass species (in 13 genera) and no adults emerged except those nymphs reared on rice. There are frequent literature records for hosts other than rice, but they are mostly based on casual records. Other Nephotettix species are found on other grass hosts as well as rice (for details, see Inoue, 1986).[2]

• Egg: Greenish transparent eggs are deposited in the midrib of leaf blade or sheath of rice or green grass. They are laid in batches of 10 to 15 arranged in a single row.
• Nymph: Nymph are soft bodied, pale-green/yellow with small spines on the dorsal surface of abdominal segments, with small, dark-brown or black markings on the dorsal surface. Gradually the colour changes to green.
• Adult: Medium size, slightly robust species. Length of male 4.30-4.50 mm., female 4.90-5.50 mm. (Nielson, 1968) General color light yellowish green to green. Crown and pronotum light yellowish green, immaculate; elytra green with small brown or black spot at middle, brown or black band on apex in male, female unmarked. Vertex usually unmarked with distinct furrow, and longer in middle than next to eye, appearing quite pointed in most specimens. Head, pronotum and scutellum are usually green but some males have black markings adjacent to ocelli. Forewing with a distinct spot that does not touch claval suture but this spot may be absent or only partially represented. Apical third of tegmen black in males; females with unmarked head, pronotum and clavus.(Nielson, 1968)Male genitalia: Subgenital plate off- white or partly black. Corners of male pygofer rounded , with 1 long and 4 smaller spines. Aedeagus with 3-5 pairs of spines located in the middle of the shaft. (Nielson, 1968) N. virescens is usually one of the easiest Nephotettix species to identify, with its unmarked vertex and distinctly pointed head. Occasionally males are found with a partial submarginal band present on the vertex. These may be distinguished by the genitalia; in particular the number of spines on the aedeagus, which is far less than in N. nigropictus.(Wilson & Claridge 1991). 

  Head, pronotum and scutellum are usually green, but some males have black markings adjacent to ocelli. Forewing with a distinct spot that does not touch claval suture, but this spot may be absent or only partially represented. Apical third of tegmen black in males; females have unmarked head, pronotum and clavus.

  Adults are 3-5 mm long, bright green with variable black markings, wedge shaped with a characteristic diagonal movement. Male insect has a black spot in the middle of the forewings that is absent in females. The insect is active from July to September.

Tungro infected crops may sometimes be confused with nitrogen deficiency or iron toxicity or acid soils. To confirm the cause of the problem, check for virus infected plants in the fields, and the presence of the insect.

Both the nymphs and adults feed on the dorsal surface of the leaf blades, by extracting plant sap with their needle-shaped mouthparts, rather than the ventral surface. They prefer to feed on the lateral leaves rather than the leaf sheaths and the middle leaves. They also prefer rice plants that have been fertilized with large amounts of nitrogen. They are primarily critical because they spread the viral disease Tungro

The green leafhopper is more common in lowland rainfed and irrigated wetland rice than in upland rice. Nymphs and adults do the damage, directly by sucking the sap of rice plants, creating white patches on the tillers, and causing wilting and, if the population is high enough, they cause ‘hopperburn’ – a yellowing, browning and death of the plants. Indirectly, damage is caused by the green leafhopper spreading virus diseases, e.g., rice Tungro bacilliform virus, rice Tungro spherical virus, and others. Note that Tungro viruses are not present in Pacific island countries; nearest country is Irian Jaya. Eggs are white, banana-shaped, laid in groups of about 15 into the leaf sheath or the midribs. The nymphs are yellow at first, turning light brown and then near black at maturity. The adults have two black spots, extending to the tips of the forewings, black tips to the wings, and black around the margins of the pronotum (extension from the head over the thorax) (Photo 1). The black bands on the head are less obvious in females.

Female lefthoppers disperse as the crop matures, but they are not strong fliers, traveling only about 1 km. Large migrations do not occur

Rice fields infested by GLH can have Tungro, yellow dwarf, yellow-orange leaf, and transitory yellowing diseases. Rarely are green leafhoppers in sufficient numbers to cause severe damage directly; they feeds more on grassy weeds than on rice; however, they transmit virus diseases to rice, even though they are considered to be less efficient in transmitting viruses than another green leafhopper, Nephotettix virescens.

• White or pale-yellow eggs inside leaf sheaths or midribs
• Yellow or pale green nymphs with or without black markings
• Pale green adults with or without black markings feeding on upper parts of the crop.

1. Reduced number of productive tillers, Withering or complete plant drying
2. Yellowing of leaves from tip to downwards, Vector for the diseases viz.
3. Rice Tungro virus, rice yellow & transitory yellowing cause direct damage to the rice plant
4. Retarded vigorous and stunted growth, Drying up of plant due to sucking up of the leaf.

Green leafhoppers are important pests. They are vectors of viral diseases such as Tungro, yellow dwarf, yellow-orange leaf, transitory yellowing, and dwarf.

Use GLH-resistant and Tungro-resistant varieties. Contact your local agriculture office for an up-to-date list of available varieties. Reduce the number of rice crops to two per year and synchronized crop establishment across farms reduces leafhoppers and other insect vectors. Transplant older seedlings (>3 weeks) to reduce viral disease susceptibility transmitted by leafhoppers. Plant early within a given planting period, particularly in the dry season to reduce the risk of insect-vector disease.

Avoid planting during the peak of GLH activity (shown by historical records) to avoid infestation. Light traps can be used to show GLH numbers. Apply nitrogen as needed (e.g., using the Leaf Color Chart) to avoid contributing to population outbreaks by applying too much nitrogen, or hindering plant recovery from planthopper damage by applying insufficient nitrogen.

Control weeds in the field and on the bunds to remove the preferred grassy hosts of GLH and promotes crop vigor.

Perform crop rotation with a non-rice crop during the dry season to decrease alternate hosts for diseases. Intercrop upland rice with soybean to reduce the incidence of leafhoppers on rice.

Before planting: Try to synchronise planting in any area so that crops do not overlap, to prevent pest populations moving from harvested to standing crops. Try to ensure that there is a rice-free period, and this coincides with the dry season (if there is one), so that hopper populations are low. During this time hoppers will lose the virus and their ability to infect. The ability of green leafhoppers to transmit Tungro viruses is lost within 2 weeks. The virus is ‘semi-persistent’. Avoid early infection by virus diseases: in irrigated systems. It is good practice to make nurseries away from rice fields and possible sources of infection. Plant when local knowledge suggests that crops will not coincide with seasonal peaks of leafhopper populations. Try planting older (>3 week-old) seedlings to delay the time that plants are exposed to infection in the vegetative stage.

During growth: Do not apply excessive amounts of nitrogen: follow local recommendations. Weed; remove grasses from around the fields, as these may be sources of virus. Good weed management not only removes the preferred grassy hosts for N. nigropictus but promotes crop vigour.

After harvest: Monitor ratoon crops for virus disease. If present, establish new nurseries away from infected fields. Preferably, plough the land, turning the stubble into the soil. Rotate with other crops in the dry season: plant maize, soybean or peanut. Alternatively, fallow the land between rice crops.

Encourage biological control agents: small wasps (parasitize the eggs), mirid bug; strepsipterans, small wasps, pipunculid flies, and nematodes (parasitize both the nymphs and adults), aquatic veliid bugs, nabid bugs, empid flies, damselflies, dragonflies, and spiders, fungal pathogen (attacks both nymph and adult).

There are a large number of parastoids and predators that attack all stages of the green leafhopper life cycle. As long as insecticides are not used, populations of this pest are usually under control by natural enemies. However, virus infection may still occur. Infection is often early in the crop, at times when parasitoids and predators are only beginning to increase, and numbers too small to control populations to the level required to prevent spread of viruses.

Most modern varieties released in Asia have resistance against Nephotettix virscens, and so they will be useful against Nephotettix nigropictus, too. Interestingly, resistant varieties force a change in feeding of the leafhopper from phloem to xylem, and as the virus is concentrated in the phloem, fewer leafhoppers are infected.

In areas without Tungro source, insecticides are not needed, avoid spraying of insecticide (it is often unable to prevent or reduce Tungro infections).

ETL: 60/25 net sweeps or 5/hill at vegetative stage or 10/hill at flowering or 2/hill in Tungro endemic area

1. Nursery should not be located near the street lamps
2. Spray any one of the following insecticides Phosphamidon 40 SL 50 ml, Phosalone 35 EC 120 ml.
3. Maintain 2.5 cm of water in the nursery and broadcast anyone of the following in 20 cents Carbofuran 3 G 3.5 kg, Phorate 10 G 1.0 kg

In Fiji, acephate and diazinon are recommended, but these insecticides should be used sparingly, and only when outbreaks of the leafhopper are likely to cause damage, which is relatively rare. Insecticides are more likely to result in the destruction of parasitoids and predators and cause increases of OTHER insects, e.g., the brown planthopper, and result in a rapid increase (‘resurgence’) of populations, leading to hopperburn.

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1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nephotettix
2. https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/cabicompendium.36198 
3. http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/training/fact-sheets/pest-management/insects/item/green-leafhopper
4. https://apps.lucidcentral.org/ppp/text/web_full/entities/rice_green_leafhopper_417.htm
5. https://agritech.tnau.ac.in/crop_protection/rice/crop_prot_crop_insectpest%20_cereals_paddy_2.html
6. https://plantwiseplusknowledgebank.org/doi/full/10.1079/pwkb.20157800279
7. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/nephotettix-virescens