Graphocephala coccinea
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Graphocephala coccinea is a meadow and woodland-dwelling species of brightly colored leafhopper native to North and Central America, from Canada south to Panama. Common names include candy-striped leafhopper, red-banded leafhopper, scarlet-and-green leafhopper, red-and-blue leafhopper, and sharpshooter.
Adults measure 6.7–8.4 mm in length and have vivid blue (or green) and red (or orange-red) stripes on their wings and the top of their thorax combined with bright yellow coloration on their head, legs, abdomen, and elsewhere.
Leafhoppers feed on plant sap with the aid of specialized mouthparts. G. coccinea has been identified as one of several leafhopper species that is a vector in leaf scorch caused by the gammaproteobacteria Xylella fastidiosa ("Pierce's disease"). X. fastidiosa is responsible for the decline of certain woody plants such as elm, oak, and other ornamental trees. According to a research entomologist at the United States National Arboretum, "An understanding of the transmission of this bacterium by insect vectors is economically important because there is neither any known effective therapy for infected trees and shrubs nor a strategy for preventing... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Riding Mountain National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Detroit | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Red-Banded Leafhopper sighting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 28 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 184th most-seen of the 822 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May to November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Red-Banded Leafhopper in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in December to April, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red-Banded Leafhopper sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Red-Banded Leafhopper sightings, Great Smoky Mountains National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Shenandoah National Park (United States, about 10%).
Same genus: Graphocephala
The closest relatives of the Red-Banded Leafhopper that you can see in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (genus Graphocephala) are Versute Sharpshooter (about 10%) and Rhododendron Leafhopper (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red-Banded Leafhopper is recorded against all the insects logged in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (28 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
