The movement of Cicadulina storeyi China (Homoptera: Cicadellidae), vector of maize streak geminivirus, within maize (Zea mays L.) fields was studied using mark, release and recapture experiments. Cicadulina storeyi, marked with fluorescent dye, were released at dusk and monitored for 14 days using yellow sticky traps placed at different distances (5–160 m) and directions from the release point. The suitability of maize growth stage for settling by C. storeyi was also investigated. Catches decreased steadily with distance from the release point and exponentially with time following the release. The mean leafhopper dispersal rate varied between 2.6 and 2.8 m/day for dry season and rainy season tests, respectively. The dispersal rate increased with distance from 1.4 m/day at 5 m to 13.6 m/day at 160 m. Wind was a major factor affecting direction of leafhopper movement with the largest proportion of C. storeyi collected downwind. Investigations on the suitability of maize growth stage for settling by C. storeyi revealed that the leafhopper preferred young plants (2–6 weeks after planting) to old ones.

Available pieces of information on Cicadulina sp. leafhopper biology, with specific references to the suitability of various species for mass rearing and resistance screening for maize streak virus (MSV) are critically reviewed. The following are summarized: (a) effect of distribution pattern and species composition on the efficiency of collection of live specimens for establishing a colony for mass rearing; (b) species biology and fecundity as affected by temperature and humidity; (c) species specificity in MSV transmission; (d) host plant preference and adaptation to mass rearing conditions. All these parameters affect the suitability of various Cicadulina species used as vectors in maize resistance screening and breeding to MSV disease.

Three populations of C. mbila originating from the rain forest (Ibadan), southern part of sudan savanna (Kadawa, Kano) and the Jos Plateau, and C. triangula population from Ibadan (Moor Plantation) were compared in relation to their ability to acquire and transmit maize streak virus (MSV). Acquisition and transmission efficiency increased with time of access feeding. Joint regression analysis showed that the populations did not differ significantly from each other in transmission efficiency of the virus. Nymphs and adults of some populations acquired MSV in 30 sec and adults transmitted the virus during the 2-hr inoculation access. Efficiency of virus transmission generally increased with acquisition or inoculation time.

The minimum latent period of maize streak virus in the various Cicadulina populations was 14–18 hr and the medium latent period (LP 50) was 16–20hr. Some individuals in all populations retain the virus throughout their lives.

Since the various Cicadulina populations were largely similar in their ability to acquire and transmit the virus into healthy maize, other factors which might be implicated in the epidemiology of maize streak disease are discussed.