The thorn between the thorns

[Prajwal J Ullal]

ID: Eggplant horned planthopper

One of the most interesting form of planthoppers, this triple thorned beauty is usually seen around in the nature trails in and around Mumbai. The peculiar specimen had placed itself between the thorns of the plant, almost in the middle, almost resembling (may be a stretch) the thorns of the plant. Unlike other planthoppers, which almost mimics the leaves of the plant, these tend to mimic the thorns of the plant, a good way to get distracted and could be an effective way to wade of predators too.

EXIF:
Canon 80D
Canon 100mm macro
F/10
Shutterspeed 1/250
ISO 500
Handheld, external flash fired

Location: Thane

[Mrudul Godbole]

Good details in the planthopper and also the branch, the f10 narrow aperture has helped. Does the thorn like projection on its back become erect? That would make it easily resemble the thorns. I feel not including the hint of leaf at the bottom would have been good. Nice capture. Thanks for sharing the detailed information.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Very interesting. It actually looks like a bent thorn. One can never stop getting amazed with the variety of camouflage mechanisms that species have evolved with in nature. Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi