''Scolypopa australis'', commonly known as the passionvine hopper, is a species of insect in the

Ricaniidae Ricaniidae is a family of planthopper insects, containing over 400 species worldwide. The highest diversity is in tropical Africa and Asia and in Australia, with a few species occurring in the Palearctic and Neotropical realms. It is one of the sm ...

family of

planthopper A planthopper is any insect in the infraorder Fulgoromorpha, in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, a group exceeding 12,500 described species worldwide. The name comes from their remarkable resemblance to leaves and other plants of their environment ...

s (Fulgoroidea) that is native to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and has been introduced to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Despite its name, they are found not only on passion vines, but on many

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

species, including

kiwifruit Kiwifruit (often shortened to kiwi in North American, British and continental European English) or Chinese gooseberry is the edible berry of several species of woody vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' ...

and the

lantana ''Lantana'' () is a genus of about 150 species of perennial flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are native to tropical regions of the Americas and Africa but exist as an introduced species in numerous areas, especially in ...

. Brown with partly transparent

wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expresse ...

, they are 5–6 mm long as adults and 5 mm as nymphs. As an adult they look somewhat like a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

to the untrained eye, and walk "like a

ballerina A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on yea ...

". The

nymph A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ty ...

s are wingless and are informally known as fluffy bums. When sufficiently aroused they will hop off their plant "with a 'snap'". Like all planthoppers they suck

plant sap Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a sepa ...

. This leaves a honeydew secretion which

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...

s gather.

In New Zealand

They were first recorded in

in 1878, where they are among over 40 species of planthopper, mostly native, but including the introduced ''

Siphanta acuta ''Siphanta acuta'' is a species of planthopper A planthopper is any insect in the infraorder Fulgoromorpha, in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, a group exceeding 12,500 described species worldwide. The name comes from their remarkable resembla ...

'' (green planthoppers), ''

Achilus flammeus ''Achilus flammeus'', the red fungus bug, is a planthopper native to Australia, and accidentally introduced into Auckland, New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of ...

'' (red fingernail bugs) and '' Anzora unicolor'' (grey planthoppers), all from Australia. They may be a

vector Vector most often refers to: *Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction *Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematic ...

of the 'sudden decline' disease caused by ''

Phytoplasma Phytoplasmas are obligate intracellular parasites of plant phloem tissue and of the insect vectors that are involved in their plant-to-plant transmission. Phytoplasmas were discovered in 1967 by Japanese scientists who termed them mycoplasma-lik ...

australiense'' that has affected the native cabbage tree (''

Cordyline australis ''Cordyline australis'', commonly known as the cabbage tree, tī kōuka or cabbage-palm, is a widely branched monocot tree endemic to New Zealand. It grows up to tall with a stout trunk and sword-like leaves, which are clustered at the tips of ...

''), and are a common pest in gardens. They are also found in regrowing forest. They are very common in the summer and autumn north of

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

. Honey produced by

honey bees A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the current cosmo ...

that consume honeydew secreted on

tutin Tutin may refer to: Places *Tutin, Serbia, town in Serbia Surname *Arthur Tutin (1907–1961), English footballer *Dorothy Tutin (1930–2001), English actress *Mary Tutin, maiden name of Mary Gillick (1881–1965), English sculptor *Tom Tutin (1 ...

containing tutu plants is known to cause honey poisoning.

Gallery

File:Many Scolypopa australis on Kniphofia uvaria.jpg, Many on ''

Kniphofia uvaria ''Kniphofia uvaria'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asphodelaceae, also known as tritomea, torch lily, or red hot poker, due to the shape and color of its inflorescence. The leaves are reminiscent of a lily, and the flowerhead can ...

'' File:Scolypopa australis mating.jpg, Mating File:Scolypopa australis moving on Phormium.ogv, Moving on

New Zealand flax New Zealand flax describes the common New Zealand perennial plants ''Phormium tenax'' and ''Phormium colensoi'', known by the Māori names ''harakeke'' and ''wharariki'' respectively. Although given the common name 'flax' they are quite distinc ...

File:Scolypopa australis adult on leaf.jpg, Adult on a leaf File:Passionvine Hopper (Scolypopa australis).jpg, Scolypopa australis against frosted glass File:Scolypopa australis nymph.jpg, Nymph

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scolypopa Australis Hemiptera of New Zealand Hemiptera of Australia Ricaniidae Articles containing video clips