Observations by fayneconnelly

In mid September I returned to check on the flatid planthopper nymphs and adults that gather on the parsley trees in this specific area. Each year a new batch emerges and I observe them carefully in the hopes of fiding something other than the mantis ootheca identified some time back... there is nothing obvious other than ants on the branches...but I was lucky enough this time to find a plant hopper nymph now emerging from its fluffy covering as an adult flatid planthopper. Over a period of 45 minutes it gradually broke out of the casing and remained static for some time while its wet wings dried... the branch had very few adults left on it... just the empty nymph casings remained. One newly emerged adult, still damp fell onto my cart and I was able to turn it over to get a better idea of its underside before replacing it on a low branch. There is no doubt they are poor fliers...they literally hop or fall away from the branch they 're on and land a few meters at most away from the last perch...unfortunately another year passes and I still am unable to find what predates these little creatures...