| Buffalo Treehopper (Stictocephala bisonia (Kopp & Yonke, 1977)) |
|
|
|
Scientific name: Stictocephala bisonia (Kopp & Yonke, 1977) Common name: Buffalo Treehopper French name: Membracide bison, Cicadelle bubale, Cicadelle bison. Order: Hemiptera Family: Membracidae Wingspan : 6-10 mm. Biotope: Green areas, wastelands, orchards, vineyards, etc. Geographic area: North America, introduced to Europe, central Asia and North Africa in the early 20th century. Observation period : May to October. |
The Buffalo Treehopper is a general bright green colour with yellow borders and a lighter coloured punctuation. The head, downwards oriented, bears two short antennae and a ventrally inserted rostrum. The pronotum shows two lateral pointed tips and a kind of spine at the rear. The general shape shows some similarity with the American Bison, hence the name of the species. The fore wings are rigid. Buffalo Treehoppers are jumping insects which hide along stems by resembling spines. Adults and young Buffalo Treehoppers suck plant sap through their rostrum and release droplets of honeydew to the opening of their digestive tract. Females lay their eggs from August to October making incisions in the stems of woody plants. Eggs overwinter and young Buffalo Treehoppers hatch out in spring and become adults around July-August. |
| [To know more about the Buffalo Treehopper] [Next picture] [Top] |
|
I had already observed a few Buffalo Treehoppers but could not take picture of them because of their small size and their mobility by a succession of long jumps. What a pleasure to finally find a cooperative insect landed on a Nettle leaf. |
| [To know more about the Buffalo Treehopper] [Next picture] [Previous picture] [Top] |
|
Another view of the same Buffalo Treehopper. |
| [To know more about the Buffalo Treehopper] [Previous picture] [Top] |
|
Front view. |
André Bon November 2019