FOR AGES 3 YEARS TO 18 YEARS
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Living on twigs of trees, fruit plants, and green leaves, these bright vibrant treehoppers are great at camouflage. The buffalo treehopper is a native insect of North America. However, in recent years they have spread across different parts of the world including Europe, North Africa, and even parts of Asia.
Buffalo treehoppers look a lot like thorn hoppers, which is another species of treehoppers. As far as their physique is concerned, they have a bright green body color. However, some individuals can also be brown in color.
This insect does not only live on trees but also feeds on leaves and twigs of trees and fruit such as apple trees. The eggs are also laid on the leaves as the young treehoppers, also known as nymphs. When the young treehoppers are born, they drop onto the vegetation where the eggs are hatch, before moving on to other trees in search of food and shelter.
Buffalo treehoppers have a very small life span of just a few months, and only a single generation takes birth in a year.
Do you like to learn about the life stories of such interesting insects around the globe? Then don't forget to read our articles about the flea and ground beetle.
Just as the name suggests, the buffalo treehopper (Stictocephala bisonia) is a species of treehopper. These treehoppers can walk, hop, and even fly.
The buffalo treehopper belongs to the class Insecta, just like the wheel bug, and the family Membracidae. Similar to other members of the family, buffalo treehoppers also have thorns that help them to camouflage themselves.
The exact number of these treehoppers in the world is not known.
Although this species of treehopper is native to North America, in recent years it has spread to many other parts of the world, including North Africa and Asia. Their abundance has also been observed in parts of Europe.
The habitat of these insects mostly consists of tropical forests. However, these insects have also been proven to be pests to vegetation. Not only do these insects feed upon plants but they also use the leaves for egg-laying. The adults, mainly the females, carve a sliver into the fresh leaves where the buffalo treehopper eggs are laid.
This species of treehoppers prefer a solitary lifestyle, over living in a large or small group of individuals comprising adult males and females. Adults are also great at camouflage.
Similar to other adult treehoppers, buffalo treehoppers also have a lifespan of no more than a few months.
The entire life cycle of this insect can be divided into three parts, which are eggs, nymphs, and adult. The females lay eggs in the sliver they created by cutting fresh leaves. The eggs are laid in pairs. During the spring, the eggs hatch and the young treehoppers, also known as nymphs, drop onto the vegetation where the eggs hatch. In summer, the nymphs grow up to become adults. Every year, a single generation takes birth and finishes their life cycle.
The conservation status of the buffalo treehopper (Stictocephala bisonia) is Not Evaluated in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
Sdult buffalo treehoppers range in color from green to brown. They have triangular-shaped heads, which make them look a lot similar to that of an American bison. As it goes without saying, this gives the insect their name as well. They have a hood over their head covering half of their body. Along with this, they have rows of spines along the length of their body.
Unlike grasshoppers, it is difficult to say whether or not these plant eater pests can be called cute. These pests cause a lot of harm to garden plants. However, they do not cause any harm to humans as they don't even bite or sting.
The communication process of this insect is extremely interesting. Instead of using any vocal sounds or body postures, this insect vibrates plants to warn other adults of possible threats. This entire method is so almost otherworldly. Scientists call this method a secret society of sound.
The buffalo treehopper can grow 0.2-0.3 in (0.5-0.7 cm) long. Compared to the Brazilian treehopper which has an incredible length of almost 3.1 in (7.8 cm), this pest is almost 10 times smaller.
Although the exact speed of this pest is not known, it can be said that they have mastered all the arts including hopping, walking, and even flying.
The average weight of this pest is not known.
There are no specific names for the male and female counterparts of this insect, thus both are known as buffalo treehopper.
Baby or young treehoppers are called nymphs. Right after the breeding season, the eggs hatch in the spring season and the nymphs take birth.
This pest mostly feeds upon fruit trees. As the nymphs develop, they move from elm and apple trees to sweet clover. Apart from that, they feed upon leaves, twigs, a potato plant, a rose plant, and a tomato plant. They even use this plant for egg-laying. Females puncture holes into the leaves using their mouthparts to lay eggs.
Although this pest can cause a lot of harm to vegetation, mainly to fruit plants, such as apple trees, they are not poisonous. They do not directly cause any harm to humans as they don't even sting or bite. One can even easily get away using buffalo treehopper oil which is basically pest control medicine. Spraying water on trees also helps to a great extent.
Although they do not require any sort of extra care, having these insects as pets might not be the best of ideas, unlike the Hercules beetle. In fact, they can cause a lot of harm to gardens if you like to have one at home.
Although the life span of the adults is only a few months, you will be amazed to know that this species of treehoppers has been around for 40 million years now.
The physical feature that distinguishes these true bugs from all other true bugs is the enlarged prothorax. It almost looks like a hood and covers half of their body.
This well-camouflaged insect is not at all harmful to humans. However, they are extremely harmful to trees.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these Christmas beetle facts and green tiger beetle facts for kids.
You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable buffalo treehopper coloring pages.
Read The Disclaimer
At Kidadl we pride ourselves on offering families original ideas to make the most of time spent together at home or out and about, wherever you are in the world. We strive to recommend the very best things that are suggested by our community and are things we would do ourselves - our aim is to be the trusted friend to parents.
We try our very best, but cannot guarantee perfection. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family.
Kidadl provides inspiration to entertain and educate your children. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate and suitable for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability.
Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.
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