Treehopper (Cladonota sp.), Andean cloud forest, Mindo, Ecuador.
There are over 3000 species of treehoppers found in every continent except Antarctica. Their most prominent feature is the helmet, which comes in a variety of odd shapes. This treehopper, Cladonota, has a bizarre horseshoe-shaped helmet to resemble twig and bark. They are exclusively vegetarian, eating only plant sap. Their mouthparts evolved into a permanent ‘straw’ to suck up liquid food. 1
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12 December 2022
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