Camera-shy Alien - _TNY_5379
The horned tree-hopper (Centrotus cornutus), also known as the thorn-hopper is the sole member of the family Membracidae in Sweden.
They really aren't that rare - just small and also very very good at hiding.
The camouflage idea is to look like a thorn on the stem of a plant so they're easy to miss, but on top of thet, these guys belong to the cumbersome group of bugs who quickly move to the far side of the stem when you get close in.
This one was on a plant near lake Öran in the Skeppnan nature reserve not far from our house and I sort of tricked it by waving my hand on the far side of the plant which made it move to "my" side instead. The "rabbit-in-the-headlights-look here is a bit appropriate, I suppose.
Camera-shy Alien - _TNY_5379
The horned tree-hopper (Centrotus cornutus), also known as the thorn-hopper is the sole member of the family Membracidae in Sweden.
They really aren't that rare - just small and also very very good at hiding.
The camouflage idea is to look like a thorn on the stem of a plant so they're easy to miss, but on top of thet, these guys belong to the cumbersome group of bugs who quickly move to the far side of the stem when you get close in.
This one was on a plant near lake Öran in the Skeppnan nature reserve not far from our house and I sort of tricked it by waving my hand on the far side of the plant which made it move to "my" side instead. The "rabbit-in-the-headlights-look here is a bit appropriate, I suppose.