DERBID PLANTHOPPER

DERBID PLANTHOPPER

Otiocerus wolfii
DERBID PLANTHOPPERS (Derbidae)

Click on each photo thumbnail to enlarge.

This planthopper is about 1/2 inch long (12 mm) with white legs, large yellow wings and an unusual snout. The wings are patterned with diagonal brown lines and spots. An orange bar extends forward from the eye with a short black line connecting to the tip of the snout. It has unusual antennae that are short and are connected below the eye (see Photo A). The color of the antennae vary from white to red.

 

The known range of this planthopper is eastern U.S. west to Nebraska, Kansas and Texas. We don’t know how common it is in this area. The individual shown was found in the terrarium in the nature center where the educational millipedes are kept.

 

Adults of this species take plant juices for their food source. Nymphs eat fungi. There are nine species in the genus Otiocerus in North America and 17 known species worldwide.

 

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