New Records on the Geographical Distribution of South American Sharpshooters (Cicadellidae: Cicadellinae: Proconiini) and their Potential as Vectors ofXylella fastidiosa

Abstract

Wells et al. 1978, which occurs only in the xylemof plants (Marucci et al. 2002).Strains of X. fastidiosa cause diseases such as“Pierce’ s Disease” (PD) in grape ( Vitis vinifera L.),“Phony Peach Disease” (PPD), “Coffee LeafScorch” (CLS), “Oleander Leaf Scorch” (OLS), and“Citrus Variegated Chlorosis” (CVC) among oth-ers. These incurable maladies produce substan-tial economic losses in a diverse variety of crops(Hernandez-Martinez et al. 2006).In South America the major threat is CVCwhich has spread rapidly throughout Brazil(Lopes 1996). X. fastidiosa is also present inUnited States, Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, Para-guay, Uruguay, Argentina (Redak et al. 2004), andCosta Rica (Aguilar et al. 2005). However, CVC isnot yet reported from the USA although it has thepotential to threaten orange (