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Ricaniid Planthopper with Eggs

Ricania speculum

Description:

Ricania speculum (Walker, 1851). When I spotted this Ricaniid Planthopper, it appeared to have laid just laid 13 eggs, neatly spaced out along a leaf stem. At least, that is how it looked to me. The only thing that I could be sure of was that the hopper was Ricania speculum. As for the "eggs", I zoomed in on my pictures to get a better look and was surprised to see that these "eggs" were fuzzy. Who ever heard of such a thing as fuzzy eggs, but there was a glimmer of hope in that discovery. I have seen and taken photos of Ricaniid Hopper nymphs and they look kind of fuzzy because they produce a white waxy filament which looks something like the material on these "eggs". So all I had to do was find out what Ricaniid Hopper eggs look like. I searched online and found http://delphacid.s3.amazonaws.com/10579........ This is a very short scientific paper which shows pictures of the eggs of Ricania speculum and they match mine exactly. Now I can go out and look at these eggs every day and, hopefully get some pictures of the nymphs when they emerge.

Habitat:

This Ricania speculum and its eggs were spotted in our backyard on a Ben Oil Tree (Moringa oleifera) locally known as Malunggay.

Notes:

I have always been fond of Ricania speculum as it was the first hopper that I photographed in the Philippines several years ago. More recently, just a few months ago when I posted one on Project Noah, someone commented that it looked like the face of an alien life form and the producers of "Star Trek" might like to use it. I couldn't agree more. It does look "alien".

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John B.
Spotted by
John B.

Palauig, Central Luzon, Philippines

Spotted on May 17, 2023
Submitted on May 17, 2023

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