Abstract
A guild of 12 sap-feeding Homoptera and Hemiptera, mostly leafhoppers and planthoppers, was sampled on large and small patches of the salt marsh grass Spartina patens . Several species maintained consistently larger densities (individuals per kg of live grass) in large (∼20 ha) compared to small (∼1 ha) patches and the herbivore load (total individuals per kg of live grass) was also greater in large patches. The number of resident sap-feeder species supported by large and small patches was the same. Small patches supported lower densities of sap-feeders because immigration rates were probably lower and removal rates higher there.