Ormenaria rufifascia

When gardeners think of leafhoppers the first thing that probably  comes to mind might be “disease vector,” but let’s set that negativity aside for now.  The Cabbage Palm Leafhopper is native, specializing on Cabbage Palms, also Saw Palmetto, and sometimes additional palms.    Today’s plant visitor may not be much of a problem species, and it has some enjoyably curious aspects., beginning with its relationship.  The genus Ormenaria has  just two species, one in the Southeastern U.S. and a little in the Caribbean, the other in the far-western states on desert plants.  Wouldn’t it be fun to know how that split happened?  It is probably an example of many Florida creatures having origins in the Southwest, such as Scrub Jays and Gopher tortoises.

The hopper’s coloration looks more like a tropical reef fish than an insect in the woods. Probably the same function:  warn predators, “bug off, I’m nasty.”

Although the adult hopper is colorful, its larvae are not, and they have their own fascinating defenses, and their own problems studied in some depth in the 1980s by biologists Craig LaMunyon and Thomas Eisner.   The larvae produce around themselves a waxy patch as a circle of protection.

Wax safety zone by Dr. Thomas Eisner

This helps in two ways.  First, the granular wax provides traction for the larvae to jump away from predatory attack using spurs on their hind legs. 

Spurred legs by Dr. Thomas Eisner

They can leapup to about a foot.  Pretty spunky for a little rascal you may not even see.    More oddly, the wax patch is an invisible force field of protection: insect predators have been shown to shun the wax.  If ants enter the waxy pad they get so gunky they have to abort the hunt to clean themselves of wax.   The wax on the larva itself is helpful too: it won’t stick to spider webs, and if the larval hop plops it in a puddle the wax acts as a buoyant life preserver.