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Project Noah Nature School
Sextius virescens
Where there are ants runing up and down an acacia tree, there is almost always some little hopper or scale insect. I found a a couple of ants on this tree and on close inspection, saw this small green treehopper about 6 mm long. The wings were an attractive green, similar to the leaves but the legs and outer wing margins had a reddish tinge like the branchlets on the tree. The hopper's scutellum extended laterally and upwards like a pair of horns. the tips were tinted red. Medially, the scutellum extended down the length of the body and formed a red tinted ridge. An ant was spotted tending to the insect at one stage (pic 5)
Spotted on a young black wattle (Acacia mearnsii ) in a nationaal park.
The little tree hoppers are very well camouflaged with a mix of green and red colouring that matches that of the tree perfectly well.
The hoppers produce honeydew which is consumed by the ants and in return the ants protect the hoppers form predators.
Family: Membracidae
Spotted on Feb 2, 2015
Submitted on Feb 2, 2015
1 Comment
I'm surprised how few of these we've seen. Maybe not common?