Wild Facts About The Planthoppers
Planthopper Photo Gallery
Planthopper. Superfamily Fulgoidea. Insect. Photograph taken and design created by the author. Copyright © 2026 Now I Wonder. All rights reserved.
Meet The Planthoppers
Planthoppers are a group of true bugs that most people never see. These tiny insects spend most of their time quietly feeding on a wide variety of plants. The planthopper superfamily contains many different families, all of which contain species with diverse appearances. Some planthoppers are beautifully camouflaged, and easily mistaken for parts of green leaves, while others blend better into bark, or resemble moths or cicadas.
As true bugs, planthoppers all have piercing-sucking mouthparts. They pierce the surface of plant leaves, then suck out nutrient-rich sap which the plants manufacture for their own growth.
Although tiny, planthoppers can be numerous and thus can weaken many plants severely, as well as making the plants more vulnerable to diseases and other pests.
My Nature Journal Sightings
07/28/2024
I was walking along, grateful for the leafy trees shading most of the trail.
Suddenly, a tiny movement caught my eye to the left. Something very small dropped down from above and came to rest on a wide leaf several yards off the trail.
At first, I thought it was just a small leaf or piece of bark. But I peered closer and realized it was actually an insect of some kind.
But that was all I could make out.
The insect was so small—smaller than my pinky finger’s fingernail and too far away for me to see it clearly. And from my position on the trail I could clearly see lots of poison ivy between me and it.
Believe me, there was no way I was moving in for a closer look.
But once again, my trusty telephoto lens, DSLR, and modern technology came to my aid. Once I got home and uploaded the day’s images, I zoomed in and identify it as a planthopper.
My very first sighting!
Conditions
|
Temperature |
89° F / 30° C |
|
Weather |
Passing clouds |
|
Humidity |
43% |
|
Time Of Day |
1:09 PM |
|
Setting |
Oak/Hickory Forest |
Scientific Classification
|
Kingdom |
Animalia (animals) |
|
Phylum |
Arthropoda (arthropods) |
|
Class |
Insects (insects) |
|
Order |
Hemiptera (true bugs) (suborder Auchenorrhyncha) |
|
Family |
Superfamily Fulgoroidea (planthoppers) |
|
Genus |
Many different genera |
|
Species |
Many different species are found in the eastern United States |
Scientific Name |
Multiple species |
Browse All Animals
Browse By Type Of Animal
Browse By Animal Group
Browse By Color
More animals are added regularly, so please visit again!
