Description

• Amastrini is a tribe of treehoppers in the family Membracidae and subfamily Smiliinae. Members are generally small to medium-sized, with the enlarged pronotum forming distinctive shapes, ridges, spines, or projections that often obscure the body when viewed from above. Colouration is commonly brown, grey, green, or mottled, providing camouflage among stems and foliage.

Range

• Amastrini is primarily a New World tribe, with species distributed from the southern United States through Mexico and Central America into South America and the Caribbean. Mexico supports a diverse assemblage of Amastrini, including species occurring in Guerrero and the Zihuatanejo region.

Habitat

• Members of Amastrini inhabit a variety of warm terrestrial environments, including tropical and subtropical forest, dry forest, scrub, woodland edges, grassland, gardens, and agricultural areas. They are usually found on the stems and branches of their host plants, where their pronotal shapes can provide effective camouflage.

Diet

• Amastrini are plant-feeders that use piercing-sucking mouthparts to obtain sap from plants. Nymphs and adults generally feed on the xylem or phloem of woody plants and shrubs, and many species have associations with particular host plants. They also excrete honeydew, which can attract ants and other insects.