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Project Noah Nature School
Membracis mexicana
A small Treehopper species with multi-colored adults: some black and white, some yellow, black and white and others orange, black and white. The nymphs were mostly white with black spines and some red on the larger instars. Large egg masses were also present. Both nymphs and adults had white eyes. The adults were about 4-5 mm long. All adult colors were found in close proximity. Some ants were also present around the nymphs. Family Membracidae.
Found in a large tree where a highway bridge gave access to the upper crown of the tree. The leaves were heavy and thick, it had small hard yellow fruits and yellow flowers. The leaves as they aged were the color of the adult hoppers that were yellow and black.
Amazing series Lauren. Great pics of these little critters! Thank you for sharing :)
Great series, LaurenZarate. Fantastic pictures, love this tiny creatures.
Thank you Leuba and Cindy :) Yes Leuba, they were surprisingly hard to see, the nymphs are much more visible.
Very interesting Lauren. You say that the adults looked like ageing leaves - must be well camouflaged. Lovely spotting !
Thank you Nacho. I wonder how much color and pattern variation exist in this species. Your reference adults look superficially similar but have markedly different patterns of yellow and black and no white or all white on the adults. The nymphs look almost identical. I'll start digging……Thank you.
Thank you Sckel, I couldn't determine from watching them if the color differences were sexual dimorphism. I didn't see any mating and didn't see any actually laying eggs, just the egg masses near adults. It would take a little bit of study to determine why the adults are so different. Would be a fun study!
Spotted on Feb 17, 2015
Submitted on Mar 11, 2015
