#issid planthopper

[northerlyy]

Issid Planthopper (Thionia bullata), taken November 9, 2025, in Georgia, US

A well-camouflaged planthopper sitting in the sun on a fence post! This little guy is covered in a layer of brochosomes which give it the powdery white color on its wings. These serve as camouflage from animals that see on the UV spectrum, mainly other invertebrates. Without this waxy covering, this individual would be completely exposed to predators—especially bad when it's perched on an exposed surface like this!

[onenicebugperday]

@welter-of-thoughts submitted: hi! found this little one near Lübeck, northern Germany this morning. funny shape, loved the colour and pattern! could you help me ID it? as you can tell from the checked notebook page it's sitting on it's about 0.5cm (0.2in i think) big. i watched it crawl around my ceiling for a bit until it suddenly dropped onto my keyboard. didn't want to squish it so i used some paper to take it outside! resumed crawling immediately as soon as i placed them on the ground but didn't fly (although to me it looks like it's probably able to fly?)

Looks like an issid planthopper, Issus coleoptratus. Unlike most planthoppers, this species doesn’t fly. I’m glad they were safely relocated outside! I hope they’re having a nice bug day...