The cicadelids glassy-winged sharpshooter, Homalodisca vitripennis (Germar), and blue-green sharpshooter, Graphocephala atropunctata (Signoret) are the most important vectors of the plant-pathogenic bacterium Xylella fastidiosa in California. In this study, vibrational communication signals of both vector species were identified and characterized based on spectral and temporal parameters, and candidate disruptive signals were designed and tested in the laboratory via playback to individuals and male-female pairs. Understanding of sharpshooter reproductive behaviors may lead to development of novel control strategies aimed at interference with the mate selection behavior.
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