Ricaniid Planthopper

Description:

Ricania speculum (Walker, 1851) is commonly known as the Black Planthopper or Ricaniid Planthopper, according to Wikipedia. The two shown in my pictures were in the same place, on adjacent plants, just a few feet apart.

Habitat:

The Black Planthopper in the first photo was spotted in our farm on Tropical Whiteweed (Ageratum conyzoides Linn.) known in the Philippines by various names in many dialects. In our local dialect, this plant is called Salunay. Just a few feet away, at the same time, there was another Black Planthopper (shown in the second photo). It was sitting on a small sapling Mango Tree (Mangifera indica Linn.) locally known as Mangang-kalabau. The Mango Sapling and the Tropical Whiteweed were both growing in the shade of a big Mango Tree. So, although these two Hoppers were on different plants, they shared the same habitat. Plant information from - http://www.stuartxchange.org/Mangga.html........ and http://stuartxchange.com/Bulak.html.....