Sunday, August 06, 2006

All Decked Out in Furs and Rubies


Flatid Planthopper Nymphs, Ormenoides venusta. Macro.
(Click picture for larger view)
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"Music is in all growing things;
And underneath the silky wings
Of smallest insects there is stirred
A pulse of air that must be heard;
Earth's silence lives, and throbs, and sings."
~ George Parsons Lathrop
These nymphs produce a powdery white substance on vines and plant stems. They are small at around 5mm in length and I believe the red structures are egg casings. These were in the wild vines behind our fence in Virginia so don't worry, I don't think their range is this far north. The adults are slightly larger, flat, all white and hang in a row from a plant stem like a row of white Christmas ornaments. These nymphs look as if they are dressed for a ball with white fur and red ruby accessories, but they really make a mess on the plant; I wonder if the ladybugs would enjoy these for lunch as much as the aphids. They are in the same group of insects.

Submission for MacroDay topic "insect". (end of post)

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