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Cyphonia sp.
Ant mimick hopper. Science direct .com : At first, you see what looks like an ant; only on the second look, it becomes evident that the supposed ‘ant’ is actually not an ant at all, but an illusion created by a curious protrusion extending from the insect's pronotum. The main body of the treehopper is almost buried under the large ant-like shape and because of its pale colouration, much less obvious than the dark-coloured ‘ant’. The protrusion's general likeness to an ant is remarkably accurate, and, with the ‘propodeal spines’ found on the ant imitation, the similarity to the aggressive and stinging ants of the subfamily Myrmicinae is striking. Notably, the ant-mimicking structure seems to be inverted, with the imitated head facing towards the back of the treehopper. That way, as the treehopper moves forward, it probably creates a rather good impression of a reversing and agitated ant in erect defensive posture, deterring any would-be predators. To complete the illusion, the terminal segments of the treehopper's hindlegs, coloured like the ‘ant’, most likely serve as the ‘ant's’ forelegs, which provides the static protrusion with the illusion of movement.
This is the first cyphonia that I get to capture with a DSLR, I have to get a better lens though.
Gracias por el ID Daniel, yo también creo que es clavata pero me han aconsejado dejarlo en sp.
Hi! this is why I love this site too, often times I see a species, I go wow! then I find it on the field... there are so many living forms that sometimes you just don't even know where to look! I hope you get to see one of these membracids, they are beautiful.
Thank you for sharing...and thanks to PN for providing such a wonderful platform. I learnt about Ant-mimic spiders on PN; then I saw one of my own. Today I have learnt about Ant-mimic hoppers. Hoping I will see one of my own, some day.