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Almana longipes
This strange insect is probably endemic to the Iberian Peninsula. It has an elongated face and vestigial wings, with very long legs being the previous ones longer than the remaining ones, forcing the insect to walk with the body In an almost vertical posture. The femurs and tibiae are also flattened. It measures between ca. one cm. in length. The wings reach about halfway up the abdomen. Its color is brown-grey quite variable according to the specimens, being frequent that the wings are darker than the body. It feeds on the sap of herbaceous plants, being a polyphagous species. It maintains a symbiotic relationship with the ants, who do not attack them and in fact defend them from predators, in exchange for sweetened exudates produced by their nymphs.
Spotted at a pine tree and evergreen oak forest. Dehesa de Valdelatas
Camera Model: NIKON D500. Exposure Time: 1/250 sec.; f/11; ISO Speed Rating: 800. Focal Length: 90.0 mm. No flash fired. DSC_2745, 2762, 2772
Spotted on Jul 5, 2018
Submitted on Oct 30, 2018
11 Comments
Congrats Arlanda!
You are right, Daniele. I confused the superfamily Fulgoroidea with the family Fulgoridae. Thanks again
You're welcome Arlanda! It actually doesn't belong to Fulgoridae, but to the close family Dictyopharidae, both in the infraorder Fulgoromorpha and superfamily Fulgoroidea. A great find!
Very Very impressive!!! and congrats for SOTD!!
You are right Michael Strydom. It looks like a lantern bug, actually they belong to the same family Fulgoridae. It was a surprise, after years admiring pictures of exotic lantern bugs, to find a relative of them so close to home!!!!
Thanks DrNamgyalT.Sherpa, Michael Strydom and LaurenZarate
Thanks Daniele, it is a great joy to be the Spotting of the Day.
Congratulations Angel, this rather unique planthopper is our Spotting of the Day:
Are you intrigued by the elongated face, and the exaggeratedly long front legs with flattened femurs and tibias? Meet the rather strange Almana longipes, our Spotting of the Day! This planthopper (infraorder: Fulgoromorpha) in the family Dictyopharidae is the only representative of the genus Almana, and appears to have been documented only from the Iberian Peninsula. Many dictyopharids have an elongated frons, the forehead equivalent of an insect's head.
For more information about this species: https://buff.ly/2OZy5m1
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Great!
Fantastic.. almost looks like a strange lantern bug :)
Very neat!