Subject: Identification
Location: Santa Barbara CA
August 2, 2017 6:55 am
Hi, This little chap was on the side of my computer for most of the day. He was about 3-5 mm and sandy brown in color with some darker spots. His eyes look a bit like a chameleon’s eyes. I live in Santa Barbara CA, right near the beach. It is August right now and the temp has been around 75 degrees fahrenheit. I have never seen anything like it before and can find nothing similar online.
Signature: Michael
Dear Michael,
This is a Planthopper in the family Issidae, the Issid Planthoppers. We are relatively confident it is the Upright-Winged Hopper, Dictyobia permutata, which is pictured on the Natural History of Orange County site. Other members of the genus that look very similar are pictured on BugGuide.