This afternoon I spotted a large orange-blue leafhopper clinging to a Yellow Bell stalk. Having been photographing only small hoppers lately, I was surprised by this one's size. It's called a Broad-headed Sharpshooter (
Oncometopia orbona). Like the
Versute Sharpshooter and the
Candy-striped Leafhopper, the Broad-headed belongs to the subfamily
Cicadellinae (Sharpshooters). However, the former two are members of the tribe
Cicadellini, while the latter is a member of
Proconiini.
Oncometopia is actually a subgenus, and
O. orbona is the only common, widespread member in the Eastern US.
The colors are stunning, aren't they? Like a mosaic! You can even see the tiny black pupils in the eyes and the grooves in the orange scutellum. This bug looks to have a short ovipositor, which would make it a female. I had a tough time getting her to pose; camera-shy, she kept ducking around the other side of the stalk.
References:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/7355
http://biology.duke.edu/dukeinsects/Oncometopia_orbona.php
http://eol.org/pages/12034896/overview
http://www.americaninsects.net/h/oncometopia-orbona.html
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