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Hoppers of Zihuatanejo

SUBORDER AUCHENORRYNCHA

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda)

-Hexapods (Subphylum Hexapoda)

-Insects (Class Insecta)

-Winged and Once-winged Insects (Subclass Pterygota)

-True Bugs, Hoppers, Aphids, and Allies (Order Hemiptera)

-True Hoppers (Suborder Auchenorrhyncha)

-Planthoppers (Infraorder Fulgoromorpha)

-Superfamily Fulgoroidea

-Acanaloniid Planthoppers (Family Acanaloniidae)

-Genus Acanalonia

-Green Cone-headed Planthopper (Acanalonia conicaus)


The Green Cone-headed Planthopper (Acanalonia conica) is a small, wedge-shaped insect in the family Acanaloniidae, commonly found in gardens, fields, and forest edges across North America. Measuring about 8–9 mm long, it has a distinctive bright green, leaflike body with a sharply pointed, conical head and wings that form a smooth, tentlike shape when folded. This excellent mimicry helps it blend seamlessly with foliage to avoid predators. Acanalonia conica feeds on plant sap, using its piercing-sucking mouthparts to draw fluids from a variety of woody and herbaceous plants.

Green Cone-headed Planthopper

Acanalonia conica

Description

  • Acanalonia conica, commonly called the green cone-headed planthopper, is a small to medium-sized planthopper in the family Acanaloniidae. Adults are bright green, laterally compressed, and wedge-shaped, with broad triangular forewings covered by a network of veins and a distinctly conical head. The nymphs are brownish and hump-backed, with conspicuous white waxy filaments.

Range

  • Acanalonia conica is native to North America and has a broad distribution in the United States and Canada, with its range extending southward into Mexico. It occurs in the Zihuatanejo region of Guerrero, where it may be encountered on suitable vegetation.

Habitat

  • It occurs in a variety of habitats containing shrubs, trees, herbaceous plants, and other suitable vegetation, including woodland edges, gardens, meadows, roadsides, and disturbed areas. Adults and nymphs are generally found on stems and foliage, where the green adults are well camouflaged.

Diet

  • Acanalonia conica is highly polyphagous and feeds by sucking plant sap from a wide variety of woody and herbaceous plants.

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