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Planthopper

Posted on December 18, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

January 31, 2010 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Based on the snout and the wing venation, I’m gonna say this one is a dictyopharid planthopper.

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Identification Challenge #6 Reveal

Posted on December 11, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

As I suspected, this challenge was easily met by all commenters.

October 8, 2009 | Twelvestones, Roswell, GA, USA

It is of course Arilus cristatus, commonly known as the wheel bug for the very structure shown above. I didn’t get a full body shot of this specimen, but here’s a wider view.

Facing opposite direction from the previous image

Among the largest assassin bugs in North America, they can deliver a painful stab with that beak. I foolishly held one when I was a kid, and I’ll not be making that mistake twice.

For more info, see the species info page at BugGuide.

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Freshly Molted Treehopper Nymphs

Posted on November 26, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

January 28, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil

There are a couple of freshly molted treehopper nymphs shown here. Just below them, you can see a shed exoskeleton. Their colors will return as their new skins harden. In the meantime, they inflate themselves so that their new skins harden larger than their previous ones.

Below is an adult that was hanging around a bit farther down the stem. That’s what they’ll eventually look like. You can see how the horn gets bigger with each molt.

Adult

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Immature Stink Bugs

Posted on November 15, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

January 26, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil

The nymphs of some stinkbug species will stick together, as shown here.

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More Bizarre Treehoppers

Posted on October 27, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

 January 28, 2010

Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil

These treehoppers are probably two species in the genus Cyphonia.

The first one you may recognize from this book cover.

[book:1554073456]

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Ants Herding Treehoppers

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

January 28, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil

These ants have quite effectively corralled their herd of honeydew producing treehoppers.

There’s a lot to see here if you look carefully. First, it looks like quite a few of the life stages of the treehoppers are present. There’s the dark adult in the center, an early instar in the bottom center, and the majority appear to be middle instars.

In the detail below, you can see the ant on the right has just taken a drop of honeydew and the dark adult has a drop waiting.

Detail

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Pentatomid

Posted on October 15, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

January 27, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil

I really like the flashy colors on this large stink bug.

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More Bell-bearer Treehoppers

Posted on October 7, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

January 28, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Another photo, same individual

One more shot, same individual

I’ve been researching these neat little treehoppers some more and I found references to a couple of Brazilian species, Bocydium globulare and tintinnabuliferum. I had to mention these just because of the scientific names.

Do you know the Edgar Allen Poe poem, “The Bells”? Remember these lines?

To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells
From the bells, bells, bells, bells,

That came to mind as soon as I saw that scientific name, tintinnabuliferum. Besides just sounding cool, it translates as “bell-bearer”. The other name, globulare, I can’t quite work out, but I think in part it means “little balls”. read more

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Treehopper

Posted on October 2, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

January 27, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil

I actually saw quite a few of these in various places throughout the park. I’m sure that headdress serves some useful function. I’m just not quite sure what.

In this excellent little book there’s a very similar looking treehopper identified as a Bocydium. I assume the one shown above belongs to that same genus.

[book:1554073456]

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Globular Stink Bug Invasive

Posted on September 26, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

This post’s featured creature is Megacopta Cribraria.

August 5, 2010 | Twelvestones, Roswell, GA, USA | ~5mm

Just outside the entrance to my subdivision, there’s a stand of kudzu, Pueraria montana var. lobata, at the border of a city park. If you’re not familiar with kudzu, it’s a major invasive here in the Southeast that pretty much takes over wherever it manages to take root. Many of the volunteer outings with the local nature conservancy are focused on eliminating this invasive from conservancy lands. Here are a few photos of the area to give you an idea. read more

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