The good news is there are fewer glassy-winged sharpshooters in Southern Arizona this year to infest vineyards. But the best news would have been if the Arizona Department of Agriculture had found none of the insects at all.

Despite an intensive eradication effort last year, 10 male and eight female sharpshooters were found in the Sierra Vista area this summer and five of them were old enough to lay eggs, according to Ed Hermes, public information officer for the agriculture department.

A cold winter that included three consecutive days of below freezing temperatures also cut down on the population.

While this year’s count is far less than 132 insects that were captured in the summer of 2006, Hermes said "it means they’re still a very real threat."

Glassy-winged sharpshooters are native to the Southeastern United States. They can be a carrier of Pierce’s Disease, a virus deadly to some grape vines and oleanders.

Carl Olson, entomology curator for the Arizona Cooperative Extension at the University of Arizona, suggest all of the fuss over the insect in Southern Arizona may be overblown. He said there are no signs of Pierce’s Disease here so the insect can be "a carrier for a disease that’s not here."

Mike DuPont, vineyard manager for Sonoita Vineyards in Elgin, said "If the disease gets into the vineyard it could be a major threat, killing all the vines around here, but the state seems to have it under control. At least, that’s what they’re telling us."