This Insect Has Super-Propulsive Pee

Sharpshooters may be small, but their pee is mighty — yes, you read that right. As you’ll see in this video, these small insects come with their own built-in, high-pressure hydraulic systems, giving them the incredible superpower of super-propulsive pee! But how do they do this? And perhaps even more strange, why do they do it?

What Is a Sharpshooter?

Sharpshooters are large leafhopper insects in the scientific family Cicadellidae. There are almost 20,000 different sharpshooter species, but even with such diversity, these insects share many common characteristics. Most sharpshooters are yellow, green, or brown, which helps them to camouflage and hide within their surrounding environment. They also have powerful back legs, allowing them to jump and escape predators quickly. This comes in handy especially for young sharpshooter nymphs, while adults can fly with two pairs of wings. 

The Poor Diet of a Sharpshooter

Sharpshooters have a rather peculiar diet, which consists solely of xylem sap, a water fluid they suck out of plants. The problem is that xylem sap is basically 95% water with very few nutrients. A diet of xylem for a sharpshooter would be like a human who only ever eats celery.

Fortunately, their bodies have a specialized filter chamber that extracts those tiny nutrients from the xylem sap, helping them get the most out of every meal. However, to get enough nutrients to survive, sharpshooters must drink a lot of xylem sap. 

Drinking so much water presents another challenge since those little insect bodies can’t hold a lot of liquid. Fortunately, sharpshooters have evolved a rather unique method for waste disposal. Rather than pausing their meal to find a suitable location to relieve themselves, these insects just shoot their waste far away.

By using what scientists call “super-propulsion”, sharpshooter insects can save both time and energy, allowing them to keep on eating without having to find the nearest bathroom. This is also where the “sharpshooter” gets its name. When they expel those little droplets of liquid from their bodies, it looks like a bullet shooting out of a gun.

What Makes Sharpshooter Pee so Super-Powered?

While other insects also consume xylem, sharpshooters have evolved a very different method for waste disposal. Cicadas, for example, spray their waste in a continuous stream of liquid. However, because sharpshooters need to spend almost all their time eating, they don’t have the time or energy to spray out large quantities of urine. Instead, sharpshooters form one droplet of liquid at a time and shoot it far away from them.

Sharpshooters have a specialized back end with an anal stylus. This flexible organ collects the insect’s urine and then flicks it away like a tiny slingshot. Not only does this allow sharpshooters to save time and energy, but it also keeps their feeding area nice and clean. In addition, superpropulsive pee prevents predators from tracking them through the scent of their urine. 

Where Do Sharpshooters Live?

Sharpshooter insects are native to the southeastern United States along the Gulf states. However, they have been known to travel via fresh fruit and nursery plants. Today, sharpshooters have been seen in California, the southern U.S., Hawaii, northeastern regions of Mexico, Chile, the Netherlands, French Polynesia, and areas of the Cook Islands. 

While most sharpshooter species don’t present much of a problem, there are a few that can cause a lot of damage. For example, the glassy-winged sharpshooter can transmit serious plant diseases like the Xyelella fastidiosa bacterium, which causes diseases like Pierce’s disease in grapes and citrus variegated chlorosis. In addition, the insects’ voracious appetite can do a number on orchards and gardens. 

Sharpshooter Rain

An unfortunate reality for some areas occurs when massive swarms of sharpshooters gather. This phenomenon, referred to as “sharpshooter rain”, is caused by large populations of insects relieving themselves with lots of fluid excretion, which creates a “rain” of sorts. Sharpshooter rain can cause damage to trees, and as you can imagine, it’s pretty annoying if you happen to walk beneath it!