Aug 102010
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Today’s bug of the day is a little easier I think, so I’ll give 5 BioPoints for the family name, 2 for the common family name, and I’ll put a total of 20 BioPoints up for grabs to anyone who can come up with a creative/evolutionary solution to why these insects look the way they do (these will be split between people if there are multiple good answers). Good luck, and I’ll award points and provide the answers in a week or so when I get back to Canada!
2 Responses to “Costa Rican Bug of the Day – Aug 9 2010”
Comments (2)
Membracidae, treehopper. I think I saw a documentary that said the ornaments are for protection purposes?
Something in the tribe Ceresini – Poppea or Cyphonia or near. I’ve not seen this particular color combination.
Reasons for the greatly inflated pronotum is anybody’s guess! Crypsis, mimicry, mechanical defense, etc. all have been offered as explanations, but nobody seems to have offered convincing evidence for any of these. Personally, I think God was just feeling a little silly the day he created these.