Well, here’s a fancy-looking critter. The Brazilian treehopper, a pea-sized, rainforest-dwelling insect, wears a headdress that looks part crown, part helicopter.
Nobody quite knows the reason for the orbs that circle its head. It’s not a showy mating display, as females have the same headdress as the males. Could they have evolved to look like a second ‘dummy’ head which predators mistakenly aim for when attacking? Researchers who observe the animals in the wild don’t see that happening.
Instead, insect scientists suspect that the structures evolved to mimic the handiwork of a parasitic fungus that invades the bodies of ants and then bursts Alien-style out of them, creating similar structures sprouting from the deceased insect. No predator wants to risk accidentally eating the same fungus.
Here are some fun facts about the treefrogs
- These ornate structures are a common feature among the 3,200 species of treehoppers, and can sometimes resemble thorns, helmets, wings and leaf-like shapes.
- Brazilian treehoppers are about the size of a pea. Microphotography has made it possible to see an extraordinary degree of detail on these tiny creatures.
- Treehoppers can feed on a single plant repeatedly because their saliva keeps the plant from closing up the puncture site. Once they find a suitable plant, they often stay put for several weeks.
- The sugar-rich “honeydew” they excrete feeds ants and other insects, which often reciprocate by protecting treehoppers against predators.
- Female treehoppers lay their eggs in the stem of their food source. Then, unlike many other insects, they sit on those eggs to shield them from predators. They also create little punctures in the plant stem so that the hatched nymphs have ready access to food.
- They make humming sounds that travel through the plant rather than the air. Researchers, who have been able to record the vibrations using highly sensitive equipment, believe the vibrations can alert each other to predators, attract mates and signal a good place to feed.
