Leafhopper species identification
Specimens were sorted to morphospecies and tentatively identified by the last author prior to DNA extraction, with species identifications confirmed following non-destructive DNA extraction through examination of male genitalia. Exoskeletons of extracted specimens were saved as vouchers and deposited in the Illinois Natural History Survey insect collection. After the initial screening all the specimens that tested positive for the presence of phytoplasmas were identified by using published taxonomic keys and related literature (Emeljanov, 1967; Fletcher, 2000; Stiller, 2010; Zahniser, 2008). One of them was a new species for science and was recently described by the last author (Dietrich, in review). The abdomens of voucher specimens (males) were dissected to study the genitalia under an Olympus SZX10 stereoscopic microscope. Habitus photographs of voucher specimens were taken at INHS with a Canon SLR camera and 65 mm macro lens mounted on an automated lift.