Banksia Treehopper - Criito festivus
Family Membracidae
This page contains pictures and information about Banksia Treehoppers that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
- Body length 10mm
- Mid summer in Alexandra Hill, all the Swamp Banksia plants had the new shots. On every new shot there were the treehoppers. Those Banksia Treehoppers were black in colour with bright orange and yellow on their body and wings. The black pronotum extending back over the abdomen and cover between wings.
- The insects mimic the leaf buds of the plants so they hardly be noticed. They insert their mouth part into the young stem and suck the plants juice.
- The black pronotum extends from head to back over the abdomen. It gives the protection from head to tail. When disturbed, they first move to the other side of the stem. If we put a figure close to them, they jump away with a 'click' sound.
- In most other treehopper species, adult and nymph can be found feeding on the same plant. We tried to find the nymph and see how they look like. We looked for most of the plants and did not find any. This species could have the annual life cycle. To see their nymph we need to come back earlier next year.
- What we did find was the empty shell as shown above. It was a Banksia Treehopper adult coming out from the last instars shell but part of the body was missing. We guessed the treehopper was attacked by predator during its last molting.
The Host Plant
- Swamp Banksia, Broad-leaved Banksia
- Banksia robur, family Proteaceae
- The insects feed on the Banksia by sucking juice from the plant's young shot, however, we did not notice any damage to the plants.
- The plants can be found in Alexandra Hill and Karawatha Forest, which usually grow in large group. Each plant is about one meter high. The plant has larger leaves than other Banksia species. Flowers are greenish-yellow in colour.
- Reference and link:
- 1. Crito festivus - Fletcher, M.J. and Larivière, M.-C. (2001 and updates).
