White Cicada from Korea: Lycorma delictula

bugman

August 1st, 2009 at 6:24 pm

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Black bug with red and white spots from South Korea
August 1, 2009
I have already spent countless hours on the web (both Korean and English) trying to figure out what this is when I already am not too fond of looking at bug pictures. It’s a little less than an inch in size and saw them everywhere in a park in Seoul and on hiking trails (still in the middle of Seoul) back in the middle of July. When approached it changes the direction its facing much like a spider and when threatened, it jumps away– pretty far for a little guy. I didn’t get to take a picture, but from the profile its body tilts in a 45 degree angle at rest. Please help me sleep.
Judy
Seoul, South Korea

: Lycorma delictula from Korea

Hi Judy,
Two weeks ago we received some photos of this interesting Fulgorid Hopper, Lycorma delictula, and it was Karl who made the identification for us. Here is the excerpt from that identification.

Another Update from Karl
Unknown Chinese Hemipteran
July 31, 2009
Daniel:
I dug a little deeper and found an interesting story behind this handsome creature. The species is Lycorma delictula (Family Fulgoridae : Subfamily Aphaeninae) and it has the erroneous common name White Cicada. Originally from southern China, it has been on the move recently and appears to have made quite a nuisance of itself outside of its natural range, particularly on the Korean Peninsula. I even found one reference in a report on China-Korea trade relations where it was referred to as “adding insult to injury”. It makes a living by sucking tree sap. Regards.
Karl

Goodness– I had a hunch it might not native to Korea since I couldn’t remember seeing them while growing up, even though they seemed to be everywhere this time. Thank you so much for the identification.
Judy
Thank you so much for identifying this for me so fast.