Leafhoppers In Winter

Some hard freezes earlier in January put an end to much of the insect activity in my yard.  The only conspicuous inhabitants of the last few weeks are a few Dainty Sulphurs that still fly on the warm days, an occasional house fly, a lady bug or two, and a few bees on the warmest of days (though few flowers exist in our yard at the moment).

Regardless, I was in search of a Green Lacewing to complete a series based on the gravity-defying egg photo I posted a couple weeks ago.  I thought it would be a piece of cake to find one - but apparently the cold weather has had an impact on them too.

Instead, I located this fancy looking 1/8 inch bug on my orange tree:

 

This is a Leafhopper, so named because of its ability to 'hop' from leaf to leaf. These bugs are often considered pests, especially to food crops. 'Sharpshooters' are part of a sub-family of leafhoppers, with the Glassy-winged Sharpshooter the most infamous (especially to lovers of wine and grapes).

So many species exist that I may never know for sure what this one is, though it has been suggested it may be a Potato Leafhopper, Empoasca fabae.