| Umbonia spinosa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Umbonia spinosa | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Suborder: | Auchenorrhyncha |
| Family: | Membracidae |
| Genus: | Umbonia |
| Species: | U. spinosa |
| Binomial name | |
| Umbonia spinosa (Fabricius, 1775) | |
Umbonia spinosa is a species of treehopper native to South America. It belongs to the Membracidae family.
Umbonia spinosa can be distinguished from other members of its genus by the appearance of its elongated pronotum, or dorsal horn. The dorsal horn is located between or just behind its humerals and they possess a short metopidium. The dorsal horn itself is straight and the base of the plate is yellow, testaceous or pale green, with red or yellow vittae (stripes) at each side, though sometimes U. spinosa can be characterized by black vittae. It also has an interesting egg survival technique, where “females dig the nest, [...] during the nesting cycle”. [1] The dorsal horn gradually tapers to a point from base to summit, similar to a thorn in appearance. [2]
Umbonia spinosa has been found in South and Central America, Mexico, and southern Florida. In general, they tend to reside in more subtropical environments. In Central America, they congregate on the branches of the Persian silk tree ( Albizia julibrissin ) for mating and overwintering, and are also found on the bean tree ( Inga edulis ). [3] Female Umbonia spinosa uses those trees to lay their eggs in by making round holes in them. [4] The trees are also used as a source of food, the Umbonia spinosa uses its mouth parts to ingest sap from the trees. [5]
The juvenile form of Umbonia spinosa is historically considered edible by the indigenous peoples of South America, while their spines are still soft after molting. [3] [6]
Hemiptera is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from 1 mm (0.04 in) to around 15 cm (6 in), and share a common arrangement of piercing-sucking mouthparts. The name "true bugs" is often limited to the suborder Heteroptera.
Mealworms are the larval form of the yellow mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor, a species of darkling beetle. Like all holometabolic insects, they go through four life stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Larvae typically measure about 2.5 centimetres (0.98 in) or more, whereas adults are generally 1.25 to 1.8 centimetres in length.
Manduca sexta is a moth of the family Sphingidae present through much of the Americas. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1763 Centuria Insectorum.
The Pennsylvania wood cockroach or Pennsylvanian cockroach is a common species of cockroach in eastern and central North America.
Manduca quinquemaculata, the five-spotted hawkmoth, is a brown and gray hawk moth of the family Sphingidae. The caterpillar, often referred to as the tomato hornworm, can be a major pest in gardens; they get their name from a dark projection on their posterior end and their use of tomatoes as host plants. Tomato hornworms are closely related to the tobacco hornworm Manduca sexta. This confusion arises because caterpillars of both species have similar morphologies and feed on the foliage of various plants from the family Solanaceae, so either species can be found on tobacco or tomato leaves. Because of this, the plant on which the caterpillar is found does not indicate its species.
Leafhopper is the common name for 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. They undergo a partial 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. The family is distributed all over the world, and constitutes the second-largest hemipteran family, with at least 20,000 described species.
Treehoppers and thorn bugs are members of the family Membracidae, a group of insects related to the cicadas and the leafhoppers. About 3,200 species of treehoppers in over 400 genera are known. They are found on all continents except Antarctica; only five species are known from Europe. Individual treehoppers usually live for only a few months.
Arrhenotoky, also known as arrhenotokous parthenogenesis, is a form of parthenogenesis in which unfertilized eggs develop into males. In most cases, parthenogenesis produces exclusively female offspring, hence the distinction.
The superfamily Membracoidea of sap-sucking true-bugs includes two of the largest families within what used to be called the "Homoptera": the leafhoppers (Cicadellidae) and the treehoppers (Membracidae). The other families in this group are quite small, and have, at various points, generally been included as members within other families, though they are all presently considered to be valid, monophyletic groups. The relict family Myerslopiidae is restricted to New Zealand and South America while the Melizoderidae consist of two genera restricted to South America. The great diversity of Neotropical taxa suggests that the group originated in that region.
The bush coconut, or bloodwood apple, is an Australian bush tucker food. It is an insect gall with both plant and animal components: an adult female scale insect and her offspring live in a gall induced on a bloodwood eucalypt tree (Corymbia). Bush coconuts can vary from golf ball to tennis ball size. They have a hard and lumpy outer layer. The inner layer is a white flesh that contains the female insect and her offspring. There are three known species of Cystococcus responsible for forming the bush coconut: Cystococcus pomiformis, Cystococcus echiniformis and Cystococcus campanidorsalis. C. pomiformis is the most common species. The bush coconut is found in Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales.
Umbonia crassicornis, commonly known as the thorn bug, is a widespread member of the insect family Membracidae, and an occasional pest of ornamentals and fruit trees in southern Florida. The body length of the adult is approximately 10 millimetres (0.39 in). This is a variable species as to size, color and structure, particularly the pronotal horn of males. This tall, essentially perpendicular thorn-like pronotum discourages birds and other predators from eating it, if only by mistakenly confusing it with a thorn. Typically, the adult is green or yellow with reddish lines and brownish markings.
Eurycnema goliath, commonly known as the goliath stick insect, or the regal stick insect, is a large species of stick insect in the family Phasmatidae, endemic to Australia and considered one of the largest species of stick insects in the country. The species has the Phasmid Study Group number PSG14.
The buffalo treehopper is a species of treehopper belonging to the subfamily Membracinae. It is sometimes classified as Ceresa bisonia.
Asterocampa celtis, the hackberry emperor, is a North American butterfly that belongs to the brushfooted butterfly family, Nymphalidae. It gets its name from the hackberry tree upon which it lays its eggs. The hackberry tree is the only host plant for A. celtis and is the food source for larvae.
Aleurocanthus woglumi is a species of whitefly in the family Aleyrodidae. It is a pest of citrus crops, and is commonly known as the citrus blackfly because of its slate-blue colour. It originated in Asia, but has spread to other parts of the world. The parasitic wasps, Encarsia perplexa and Amitus hesperidum can help control the pest.
Tessaratomidae is a family of true bugs. It contains about 240 species of large bugs divided into 3 subfamilies and 56 genera.
Centrotus cornutus (thorn-hopper) is a species of "treehoppers" belonging to the family Membracidae.
Enchenopa binotata is a complex of multiple species found mostly in Eastern North America, but have also been reported in Central America. They are commonly referred to as treehoppers and are sap-feeding insects. The species in the complex look similar to each other in morphology, but are identified as different species by the host plant they occupy.
Aetalionidae are a family of treehoppers in the superfamily Membracoidea. Aetalionidae are somewhat like Membracidae in that they have one to three rows of short spines on the hind tibia but differ in having the front femur fused to the trochanter and the scutellum is completely exposed. The females have finger-like protrusions on the genital capsule. The family is mostly Neotropical. The subfamily Biturritiinae is Neotropical while the subfamily Aetalioninae has a Neotropical genus Aetalion and the sole Old World representative genus Darthula with a single species Darthula hardwickii.
Stenoperla prasina is a species of stonefly belonging to the family Eustheniidae. This species is endemic to New Zealand and is classified as "Not Threatened" under the New Zealand Threat Classification System. It is found on the North, South and Stewart Island / Rakiura Islands as well as on Little Barrier Island. Although adults of this species are most often coloured bright green, this species can be coloured yellow. This species inhabits clean, cold, running streams and rivers with stony bottoms within native bush. It is a known indicator of water quality. The larvae eat plant detritus and other aquatic insects while the adult insects feed on sooty mould fungi as well as other plant matter. The adults of this species are a known food source for New Zealand long tailed bats. Adults have been dissected and have been found to have been carrying Nematomorpha and trematode parasites. The New Zealand Department of Conservation classifies this species as "Not Threatened". In 2022 a specimen of this species was the 5 millionth specimen to be digitised in the Natural History Museum, London collection.
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