Subject: What is this?
Location: Guapil, Costa Rica
February 18, 2013 1:11 am
Saw this in Costa Rica a few years and wanted to know what it is.
Thanks!
Signature: Mix
Dear Mix,
Back in 2997, we posted an image of an unidentified Hemipteran from Costa Rica that we eventually identified as a Wax Tail Hopper, Pterodictya reticularis, twelve years later. Encyclopedia of Lifealso has an image of this unusual species. The waxy tail is actually a secretion thought to protect the Hopper from predators. Many members of the family Fulgoridae as well as other members of the order Hemiptera are capable of secreting similar waxy substances. Fulgorid Planthoppers are sometimes called Lanternflies.
As an aside, in 2003, the country of Nicaragua issued a stamp with an image of Pertodictya reticularis.
