Plant hopper fact sheet | Field of Mars EEC

What are plant hoppers?

Plant hoppers, often written as planthoppers, are insects in the superfamily Fulgoroidea within the order Hemiptera. They have six legs, piercing-sucking mouthparts and usually two pairs of wings held like a tent over the body. Many species are small and well camouflaged, blending in with leaves, bark or stems. Their hind legs are adapted for jumping, which helps them escape quickly when disturbed.

A plant hopper.

A green plant hopper uses camouflage to blend in with its surroundings.

Where do plant hoppers live?

Plant hoppers live on plants and bark, where they feed on sap and hide from predators. They may be found on leaves, stems, twigs, shrubs and tree trunks. At Field of Mars Reserve, likely habitat includes the shrub layer, wattles and tree trunks within eucalypt forest and other vegetated parts of the reserve. The reserve contains eucalypt forest, gully forest and wetlands, with around 300 plant species supporting many animals.

A green plant hopper is hard to spot because its body shape helps it blend in with leaves and bark.

What do plant hoppers eat?

Plant hoppers are herbivores. They use their piercing-sucking mouthparts called a rostrum to feed on plant sap. Many sap-feeding insects remove excess sugar as honeydew. In young plant hoppers, sugary secretions can also form waxy tail-like filaments.

Young plant hoppers also feed on sap from their host plants.

What adaptations do plant hoppers have to help them survive?

Plant hoppers have several adaptations that help them survive. Their shape and colour can make them look like leaves, bark or small thorns, which helps camouflage them from predators. Their hind legs are adapted for jumping, allowing them to spring away quickly if disturbed. They have a piercing-sucking mouthpart called a rostrum that works like a straw for drinking sap. Many nymphs also produce waxy filaments. The Australian Museum explains that these waxy tails can help slow a fall, keep water off the body, or distract predators by making the back end look like the head.

A brown-faced plant hopper uses camouflage to blend in with bark.

Leaf-like wings help green plant hoppers blend in with vegetation.

What is the life cycle of a plant hopper?

Plant hoppers have incomplete metamorphosis. Females lay eggs on or near their food plants. The eggs hatch into nymphs, which look like smaller, wingless versions of the adults. As they grow, the nymphs moult several times. After the final moult, the adult emerges with fully developed wings.

Plant hopper nymph during the juvenile stage of the life cycle.

Why are plant hoppers important?

Plant hoppers are part of bushland food webs. They feed on plants and, in turn, become food for predators such as spiders, birds and other insect-eating animals. Their presence shows how many small animals depend on healthy vegetation layers such as shrubs, wattles and tree bark.

A citrus planthopper is one example of a Sydney-region flatid plant hopper.

How can you help plant hoppers?

You can help plant hoppers by protecting native vegetation, especially shrubs and wattles, and by avoiding unnecessary pesticide use in bushland and gardens. Plant hoppers need healthy food plants and shelter in the vegetation layers of an ecosystem.

Native wattles and other shrubs provide food plants for plant hoppers.

Related fact sheets

More invertebrate fact sheets

• Invertebrate fact sheets – explore more small animals found in Sydney bushland and gardens.
• Insects fact sheet – plant hoppers are insects with six legs, three body parts and an exoskeleton.
• True bug fact sheet – another hemipteran group with piercing-sucking mouthparts.
• Cicada fact sheet – another sap-feeding insect in the order Hemiptera.

Habitats and ecosystems

• Habitat fact sheet – explains what a habitat is and how different habitats support living things.
• Shrub habitats fact sheet – shows how shrubs provide food and shelter for many insects.
• Tree habitats fact sheet – explains how bark, branches and canopy provide places for insects to live and feed.
• Eucalypt forest fact sheet – explains the local bushland ecosystem where plant hoppers may be found.
• Field of Mars Reserve fact sheet – explores the reserve habitats that support many invertebrates.

Food webs and ecological relationships

• Ant fact sheet – ants are part of the same bushland food webs as plant hoppers.
• Garden orb weaving spider fact sheet – spiders are predators that help control insect numbers in bushland food webs.

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Flora and fauna fact sheets

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