Treehoppers are peculiar insects that wear a ‘helmet’ on top of their bodies. This ‘helmet’ is actually a modification of their thorax, and is called the pronotum. The shape of the pronotum varies from species to species in a bewildering diversity of shapes, some of which can be so bizarre they border on the realm of science fiction.
Treehoppers also present some extraordinary behaviours, including species hiring ants as bodyguards, devoted mothers caring for their babies, and males serenading females during courtship. Over 3500 treehopper species have been described, most of which occur in tropical America, but there are even a few species here in Vancouver.
This talk will address the ecological challenges treehoppers face in their natural habitats, as well as how their pronotum and behaviour allowed them to spread from the lush Amazonian jungle up to the snow limit in the high Andes.
Luis Camacho is an Ecuadorian naturalist doing his PhD at UBC Zoology. He is interested in insect behaviour and natural history, particularly treehoppers. He carries out research in his home country, where he studies treehoppers in museum collections and in their natural habitats.