the.com/treehopper
nature's punk rocker, wearing absurd headgear that science still can't fully explain
means A small plant-sucking insect (family Membracidae) known for the bizarre, often spiky or ornate enlargement of its pronotum that arches over its body.
from A plain English compound, transparent as glass: "tree" plus "hopper," naming a bug that lives on woody plants and springs away when disturbed. "Hopper" descends from Old English "hoppian," to hop or leap — the same root behind grasshopper and the hops vine (so called for its climbing, clambering growth). The name simply marries habitat to habit, no Latin required.
- alien helmets
- Some grow horns mimicking thorns, ants, or wasps
- ant bodyguards
- They trade sugary honeydew for ant protection
- helmet origin
- Their headgear may be a third pair of wings
- tiny chorus
- They sing through plants using vibrations you can't hear
- species count
- Over 3,000 kinds, each weirder than the last
membracis foliata — central american treehopper with leaf-like pronotum that perfectly mimics leaves
entylia carinata — north american crested treehopper with distinctive horn-like projection on thorax
umbonia crassicornis — tropical treehopper with large curved spine, found throughout americas