A beautiful little leafhopper with, alas, no common name, Scaphytopius elegans can be found all over the southern US, from Californa to Texas, Florida, and North Carolina. Adults are pale reddish brown with a wide cream or yellow midline stripe, striped eyes, a pale transverse stripe with black borders crossing the “nose” and going through…
Tag: Auchenorrhyncha
Acanalonia Servillei
This charming little planthopper nymph is in the process of destroying the leaf of this succulent by sucking all the useful stuff out of the stem. As adults, Acanalonia servillei are charming little bright green wedges with a yellow dorsal stripe and red eyes; the nymphs are white, and look like they have brown eyeshadow….
Rugosana Querci
Another no-common-name, no description on Wikipedia, nothing beyond “It’s a leafhopper”. I understand the problems involved with trying to do field research on an animal 1/4″ long, but it just seems sad that just about all I can say about this striking little insect is “It’s a leafhopper”. Bugguide.net tells me it’s probably a second…
Omolicna Joi
The identification here makes me nervous, since Omolicna joi was only recently discovered (2014) and the pattern on the wings on this little dude/ette really reminds me of the much more common citrus flatid planthopper, Metcalfa pruinosa. I always try to assume that I’ve found the more common/boring species, because who the hell am I…
Bothriocera Cognita
This tiny, black and white spotted cixiid planthopper does not seem to have a common name. Bothiocera cognita is about 3-5mm long, and appears to range through the southeastern US. Other than that, it’s a nondescript little planthopper, without even a Wikipedia entry. Planthoppers, in general, live on, and eat plants, eating the roots as…
Flatoidinus punctatus
How do these crazy little bugs (these are true bugs, too) not have a common name? Flatoidinus punctatus is one of (it feels like, having looked for this guy on bug-guide.net for hours) hundreds of very similar, but not identical, hopping insects in the family Flatidae. Hoppers generally have a strong, pointy proboscis hidden under…
Water Lily Planthopper
Meet the water lily planthopper, Megamelus davisi. Despite appearances, this atomic-scale little being (5mm long) is fully grown, and the “shrek ears” are what his/her antennae normally look like. Unlike most planthoppers, this one does not have wings, just the body plates that would protect the wings if they were there. This makes it look…
Citrus Flatid Planthopper
The citrus flatid planthopper (Metcalfa pruinosa) makes me happy. It is a member of the family Flatidae, whose name amuses me greatly (and, yes, references the fact that these insects are “flat” when viewed from above). Also known as the frosted moth-bug, Pruinosa is common in eastern North America, ranging from Canada to Mexico. Adults…