noun
planthopper; leafhopper
Refers to small jumping insects of the family Delphacidae (planthoppers) and sometimes leafhoppers. In everyday Japanese, often encountered as a rice pest (ウンカ).
今年はウンカが大量発生して、稲が被害を受けた。
This year there was a massive outbreak of planthoppers, and the rice was damaged.
ウンカはイネの汁を吸う害虫だ。
Planthoppers are pests that suck the sap of rice plants.
Rare kanji spelling; not commonly used.
The origin is uncertain. The kanji 浮塵子 literally means 'floating dust child', likely a descriptive Chinese term for these tiny jumping insects. The reading うんか may be a Japanese approximation of a Chinese pronunciation.