I found this creature on a goldenrod plant. From looking at treehoppers and nymphs in Bugguide, I didn't find anything like this, but imagine it is the nymph of some kind of treehopper. Can anyone give me some clues (or an ID) as to what it is. It was found in Albion, Michigan on June 15, 2017. Thank you very much!
OK. I've seen them (the adults, both green and brown and whitish) numbers of times -the green adults have the same coloring. I'm very grateful to you for identifying it. I've just sent out my backyard blog but will hasten to ID this critter for the readers. Thanks very much again!
The URL of this week's blog is below.
http://mokennon.albion.edu/2017/blog%20june%2018%202017.htm
Yep, no problem.
Just a word on your blog for the week though -third row down, first photo is not a bee. Its a Robber Fly or Bee Mimic Fly. Laphria thoracica likely ;)
You can tell pretty quickly by the shape of the head and position of the eyes.
I suggest Membracidae (treehoppers) Smiliinae Ceresini, nymph. In Italy we find a common species, Stictocephala bisonia (buffalo treehopper), which was also classified, in the past, as Ceresa bubalus. S. bisonia is a North American species, accidentally introduced in Europe in the last century. Regards,
Rinaldo Nicoli
Adam, thank you for pointing out that error. It's a pretty good mimic. I should have looked at its big fly eyes. I'm fixing that up in the blog as we speak. Where are you located? (if I may ask).
Rinaldo, thanks for adding that information. Did Ceresa and Stictocephala use to be one Genus or was the genus name changed?
>Stictocephala bsonia (buffalo treehopper), which was also classified, in the past, as >Ceresa bubalus.
I believe Ceresa and Stictocephala are two distinct genera. There is no synonymy between these two American genera,
Rinaldo Nicoli
I'm confused. You said
Stictocephala bisonia (buffalo treehopper), which was also classified, in the past, as Ceresa bubalus.
I was just wondering why the generic name was changed. Was it because the former name was wrong?
Martha-
I live in the middle of the NY Finger Lakes region and work throughout central NY
The erroneous identification as Ceresa bubalus, a Central American treehopper species, was made in Europe on this insect introduced from North America. Probably there were no sure comparison terms for a secure identification. Subsequently, the identification was perfected and rectified recognizing a different species, Stictocephala bisonia (for more details see D.D. Kopp, Yonke, T.R., Taxonomic Status of the Buffalo Treehopper and the Name Ceresa bubalus, Annals of the Entomological Society of America, vol. 70, nº 6, 1977, pp. 901-905).
Rinaldo NIcoli
Thanks Rinaldo.
I still have the butterfly collection I made in high school in the 50's. A lot of their names have changed now that DNA can make the call!
Dear Martha,
Adam and Rinaldo may be right, this can be a membracid species. However, I have caught many Stictocephala bisonia adults, I have had no chance to observe the juveniles. The species was found first in Europe in the former Hungary (Temesvár) in 1912 by Győrffy. It is a poliphagous insect with little importance. I used to find it in raspberry.
Maybe raspberry is a food that attracts them. Each section of my yard has a lot of raspberry canes. (The berries are almost ripe. I've eaten 1 this year so far.) But they also like the stems of tiger lily, and I found one on an oak leaf. It may be that they like quite a few things with canes. These two pictures are from 2015.
Dear Martha,
Nymphs of S. bisonia feed mainly on herbaceous plants, in Hungary they prefer alfalfa and clover. Adults place their eggs under the bark of twigs (fruit trees, Ulmus sp., Crataegus sp., Rosa sp., Populus sp., Cornus sp., Salix sp.
That seems to be what they are doing in my yard. I don't really mind - they aren't very many. And they are so brilliantly green! Thanks for the info.
Right now I'm looking for the two-mark treehoppers to emerge. But I haven't even seen a nymph just yet. In 2015 and 2016 they started to emerge on this date or the 24th, according to these pictures. But they always lived on lower branches of the redbud, and I think they have moved higher in the tree. Admittedly, there were a lot of them last year and they may have damaged some of the lower branches - I must just go look harder.
I did some more looking and I'm going to agree with Rinaldo, the North American buffalo treehopper is listed as Stictocephala bisonia.
Thank you so much again, Adam. I really like getting it as right as possible!
András, it is interesting that you too have had little contact with the nymphs - this month is the first time I've ever seen one. I may have seen two individuals but no way to tell since I saw them a couple of days apart. I haven't seen one since I asked this original question, even though now I actually LOOK for them. Maybe they have all emerged and flown to a different part of the yard. I feel very lucky to have seen one after several years of trying to observe as much as possible.
These nymphs blend in so well colorwise with plants like goldenrod, and their texture is so much more amorphous than the adults. I guess that's why they are less likely to be observed, especially if you don't know such a thing exists.
:-)
Well, today I went out and stood under that redbud tree and finally saw the first tiny two-mark treehopper. I didn't see any in the just emerged blue color but did see a couple that were still in the intermediary dark pink color. I had forgotten how very small they are when they first hatch. Only about 3 mm in any direction.....
András,
Maybe you know about this phenomenon. I found a strange picture among the ones I'm cropping from today's lot. It looks as if some bug is disguising itself with garbage. I read up on the habit of green lacewing larvae coating themselves with the bodies of their prey. Does this look anything like what that would look like? That's a terrible English sentence. Does this trash pile look how a green lacewing larva would look dressed in its prey's leftover shells?
If it isn't a green lacewing larva, is it possible that that picture is of TWO garbage bugs mating? And what is the bug behind the garbage bugs?
http://blog.al.com/live/2012/11/junk_bugs_are_cute_but_that_lo.html
Dear Martha,
Debris-carrier lacewing species in Europa are Nothochrysa, Chrysotropia and Pseudomallada spp. However, in most cases head, legs of these larvae can be recognised. Regarding your picture, I coud see but the debris. Here you are a fine American paper on a new Nearctic lacewing genus:
https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/4019/
Hello Martha
Several references on attachment 1
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0181429
8
http://gardeningintunewithnature.bangordailynews.com/2015/03/15/ecologicaly-functional-garden/gardening-for-wildness-aphids-treehoppers-and-garden-ants/
10
https://web.ntnu.edu.tw/~treehopper/lib/publications_lib_pdf/lin_2006.pdf
11
https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/viewFile/zootaxa.3878.2.2/10231
13
https://www.easttennesseewildflowers.com/gallery/index.php/Beetles_Bugs
14
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=21&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjL-ZC5yJ3VAhXFchQKHTt3A9k4FBAWCCIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmgofmc.org%2Fbeneficial-insects%2F&usg=AFQjCNGEhdV5pOQZ8JyUCGL8mJuGiJG2XA
I think it is buffalo tree hopper.The buffalo treehopper, Stictocephala (or Ceresa ) bubalus, 6
to 8 mm (0.2 to 0.3 inch) long, is harmful to young orchard
trees.
https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-1-4020-6359-6_2527
Thank both of you for adding your answers. I believe the original question was answered almost immediately. But thank you anyway..
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