The head is brown to black and covered with numerous ivory to yellowish spots. Adults are about 0.5 inch long and are generally dark brown to black when viewed from the top or side.
The glassy-winged sharpshooter is a large insect compared to the other leafhoppers. Populations of blue-green sharpshooter are always larger in natural vegetation than in vineyards. In August when grape foliage is less succulent, blue-green sharpshooters begin to move back to nearby natural habitats. Some of the nymphs become adults by mid-June, and the number of young adults continues to increase through July and August. Their movement into vineyards increases as natural vegetation dries up. In late winter and early spring, adults become active, and a small percentage begin moving into nearby vineyards for feeding and egg laying starting just after budbreak. The blue-green sharpshooter has one generation a year in most of California and a second generation in some parts of the state. Because it feeds on succulent new growth in areas of abundant soil moisture and shade, it is seldom found in unshaded, dry locations but also finds plants in constant deep shade unattractive. It can also be abundant in ornamental landscaping. The blue-green sharpshooter is most common along stream banks or in ravines or canyons that have dense growth of trees, vines, and shrubs.
Mugwort, which is a perennial, is a major breeding host. It also feeds and reproduces on many other plants but prefers woody or perennial plants such as wild grape, blackberry, elderberry, and stinging nettle. The blue-green sharpshooter feeds, reproduces, and is often abundant on cultivated grape. In California they are found in coastal regions near riparian and landscaped areas. The blue-green sharpshooter has green to bright blue wings, head, and thorax, and yellow legs and abdomen, which are visible on the underside. Sharpshooters are in the same insect family as leafhoppers (Cicadellidae).
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