Seed Mimicking Leafhopper
Snout & Ocelli
Seed Mimicking Leafhopper
Antennae from below
Animals
Plants
Info
| Seed Mimicking Leafhopper Snout & Ocelli | | Seed Mimicking Leafhopper Antennae from below | | ||
Animals Plants Info |
 | Class: | Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) | ||||||||||||
| Order: | True Bugs (Hemiptera) | |||||||||||||
| Family: | Leafhopper (Hopper: Membracoidea, Cicadellidae) iNaturalist Observation | |||||||||||||
| Species: | Seed Mimicking Leafhopper (Notocephalius hartmeyeri)| This Photo: | Antenna tip from above | General Species Information: Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere 1st Live Photo on-line: What a curious little brown bug this is. ~9mm long (body & snout). Interestingly appendages aren't included in invert lengths; ie wings, legs, antennae, palps, etc. However, the snout on this is so long it doesn't seem fair The antennae seem tiny, but inspecting underneath shows they start as the typical club like, then finish of as a fine haired, antennae of this family of Hemiptera. The snout & body is concave under and the whole upper surface is covered in dimples, which reflect in the flash of the camera. It would be difficult for most animals to feed with the mouth in the middle, but being a true bug, this has a proboscis to such the juices out of plants. It can articulate quite well in the middle to over come obstacles in the terain and can certainly hop; as it's name implies. We didn't see if fly though. It's snout seems to mirror it's wings, perhaps a defensive trait; like the false eyes on butterflies. There seem to be two pale spots on the snout in front of the eyes, these are possibly defunct ocellii. Ventrally it's snout is primarily black, with a black stripes on the abdomen. It also seems to be covered in small scales underneath.
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