Giant leafhopper nymph (Ledromorpha planirostris)

A weird flat bug at 16mm long this is the nymph of a very large leafhopper.
About 4mm thick at most. Always pale, sometimes with faint pink to red markings. Delicate setae around margin.
On the bark of Eucalyptus melliodora at night time.
These are the largest leafhopper in the world. The adult reaches 28mm long. The adult female develops a long ovipositor. When very young they are almost translucent.
A male of this species has never been found and it is therefore suspected they may be parthenogenetic.
A possible younger one here

comments (4)

Vodkaman

Lion

That has to be worth camping out a few nights for.

DAve Posted 9 years ago
1. Mark Ridgway
  
  Lion
  
  They're pretty weird things Dave but utterly dependent upon camouflage so they don't offer much in the way of entertainment when you find one. I still want to find a fully grown one. Posted 9 years ago, modified 9 years ago
2. 1. Vodkaman
    
    Lion
    
    I would be wanting to solve the enigma of the male thing.
    
    Either you will have to spend weeks or more, manually monitoring, or set up a digital monitoring station. A daunting task indeed. Even if you succeed, no one is going to name a college entomology department after you :)
    
    Dave Posted 9 years ago

Vodkaman

Lion

Another plan, would be to locate a hatch and bring them and their surrounding habitat back to the lab, and study them growing.

It would be a full two year project, the first part, finding out what they feed on.

Dave Posted 9 years ago