[2] The adult P. perpusilla has an elongated snout with piercing and sucking mouthparts, and a soft body, and is a yellowish-brown colour.

[3] P. perpusilla is native to southern Asia and occurs in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

These include maize, sorghum, pearl millet, barley, bitter melon, okra, Vietnamese luffa, watermelon, squash, rice, wild oat, pea and Indian thorny bamboo.

[4] Adult female P. perpusilla lay small batches of eggs on sugarcane leaves, mostly on the underside but sometimes on the upper surface, and during the winter, inside the leaf sheath.

The plant's vigour is reduced through the loss of sap and the reduction in photosynthesis resulting from the sooty mould.