Membracidae
This week, we feature two specimens. The first is a nymph (larva) of a Treehopper, family Membracidae, genus Oxyrhachis, and the second is an adult, captured at the same time and place. Both are plant feeders and members of the order Hemiptera, the true bugs. Membracids are renowned for their bizzare forms and for their mimicry of thorns on the branches of shrubs and trees. Before the advent of molecular identification, the primary means of matching adults with nymphs was to collect them while they are feeding together. The two specimens of a nymph and an adult are possibly of the same species. Both were collected at icipe Duduville campus.
