• Source: Jacobiasca formosana

Empoasca onukii, the tea jassid, is an insect species belonging to the subfamily Typhlocybinae of the family Cicadellidae. Plant hosts include Gossypium (cotton) species and, notably, Camellia sinensis (Chinese tea plants). The species is distributed throughout East, Southeast, and South Asia (including in China, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Thailand).




Names


Common names for E. onukii include the small green leafhopper, tea green leafhopper, or tea jassid. In Mandarin Chinese, the insect is referred to as 茶小綠葉蟬 (chá xiǎo lǜ yèchán) or 小綠浮塵子 (xiǎo lǜ fúchénzǐ). In Siyen Hakka, it is called 著涎 (Zhe xián), 著蜒 (Zhe yán), or 著煙 (Zhe yān). In Taiwanese, it is 浮塵仔 (phû-tîn-á), 蜒仔 (iân-á), 蝝仔 (iân-á), 烟仔 (ian-á), 趙烟 (tiō-ian), 跳仔 (tiô-á) or 青仔 (chhiⁿ-á).




Taxonomy


It was previously thought that the tea jassids in Japan, Taiwan, and China were three distinct species (Empoasca onukii, Jacobiasca formosana, and Empoasca vitis, respectively). Newer molecular and morphological evidence shows that they are all the same species, Empoasca onukii.




Description and habits


The mature J. formosana are slender and yellowish-green with translucent wings with a body length of about 3 mm (0.1 in).
The adults eat young plant shoots for the nutrient solution within, slowing bud growth and causing yellow-green bud curling. The leaf margins turn brown and eventually fall off.




Use in tea production


Empoasca onukii is important in the production of Taiwan's dongfang meiren tea. The tea, which is an oolong tea with a flavor likened to ripened fruit and honey, is made from leaves that have been fed upon by these insects. The insects, which thrive in warmer, pollution-free environments, suck the phloem juices of the tea stems, leaves, and buds, producing monoterpene diol and hotrienol which give the tea its unique flavor.
This process has inspired makers of other types of tea such as dongding oolong tea and the east coast black teas of Hualien and Taitung to withhold pesticide use in order to replicate this process in other teas. Similar action of jassids and thrips helps form the muscatel-like flavor of India's second flush Darjeeling tea.




See also


Leafhoppers
Camellia sinensis, the Chinese tea plant
Dongfang meiren tea




References






External links


Photos of J. formosana

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Jacobiasca formosana
• Insect tea
• Taiwanese tea
• Small green leafhopper
• Tea green leafhopper
• Dongfang meiren
• List of hemipterans of Sri Lanka