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Ledrinae (Cicadellidae)

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Description

Look like Platypus of the insect world :) Taken at night in Singapore forest.

Quote from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leafhopp…

Leafhopper is a common name applied to any species from the family Cicadellidae. These minute insects, colloquially known as hoppers, are plant feeders that suck plant sap from grass, shrubs, or trees. Their hind legs are modified for jumping, and are covered with hairs that facilitate the spreading of a secretion over their bodies that acts as a water repellent and carrier of pheromones.[1] They undergo an incomplete metamorphosis, and have various host associations, varying from very generalized to very specific. Some species have a cosmopolitan distribution, or occur throughout the temperate and tropical regions. Some are pests or vectors of plant viruses and phytoplasmas.[1] The family is distributed all over the world, and constitutes the second-largest hemipteran family, with at least 20,000 described species.

The Cicadellidae combine the following features:
• The thickened part of the antennae is very short and ends with a bristle (arista).
• Two ocelli (simple eyes) are present on the top or front of the head.
• The tarsi are made of three segments.
• The femora are at front with, at most, weak spines.
• The hind tibiae have one or more distinct keels, with a row of movable spines on each, sometimes on enlarged bases.
• The base of the middle legs is close together where they originate under the thorax.
• The front wings not particularly thickened.

An additional and unique character of leafhoppers is the production of brochosomes, which are thought to protect the animals, and particularly their egg clutches, from predation and pathogens.

Image size
960x640px 455.25 KB
Make
Canon
Model
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Shutter Speed
1/160 second
Aperture
F/16.0
Focal Length
100 mm
ISO Speed
160
Date Taken
Oct 15, 2013, 3:01:56 AM
Sensor Size
6mm
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Comments12
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John-AM's avatar
Makes me think of a platypus. Such amazing little creatures that exist!