Ricaniid planthopper

Description:

The family Ricaniidae, one of the smaller families in the planthopper superfamily (Fulgoroidea) is a group of hemipteran insects, containing over 40 genera and 400 species world-wide. The highest diversity is in tropical Africa and Asia and in Australia, with a few species occurring in the Palearctic (Wikipedia). This specimen bears some similarities to Ricania speculum.

Habitat:

This spotting on ginger lily (Alpinia sp.) in a large semi-urban yard & garden adjacent to a disturbed patch of remnant forest.

Notes:

This is one of several species of Ricaniid planthoppers, resident or visiting this location. See "related spottings".

Species ID Suggestions

17 Comments

Scott Frazier 11 years ago

Thanks. I'll stick with Ricaniid planthopper because clear means clear :-)

Ashish Nimkar 11 years ago

Hi Scott, While checking ID of my specie spotted in India I find most of Ricaniidae planthoppers are clear-winged, they do not look like due to some strong dark colours. If you check their pictures closely you can see coloured shade below their wings of their wings.

Josh Asel 11 years ago

very nice

Scott Frazier 11 years ago

Thanks, but on what basis? Reference? A goggle image search pulls up various different planthopper species using that same general name (e.g. http://bugguide.net/node/view/9315 ). Besides, it is not really clear-winged even though it has a couple of translucent patches on its wings...