Re: Jims bug problem

Thanks, Auralie. It sounds like you're on the right track. These are definitely shaped like rose thorns.

On Sunday, July 18, 2004, at 12:02 PM, Aplfgcnys@aol.com wrote:

Jim, I am certainly no expert on bugs, but I was reminded of a piece I wrote
for my garden
club's newsletter several years ago. I don't think I can send an attachment
on this list, but
I will send it to you privately. It is too long to reproduce in toto here,
but the critical part is
this:

Another, less common, use of vibrational communication is that in the
insect family Membracidae between mothers and their offspring. We seldom
think of
insects as being model mothers, but in one species, the thornbug (Umbonia
crassicornis), found in Costa Ricabs montane forest, this remarkable
situation
exists.
Thornbugs are sucking insects having a hard shell resembling a half-inch
rose thorn, and can easily be mistaken for part of the plant they cling to.
The
mating procedure is similar to that described above. The malebs call is
described as sounding like a bskilled duo of French horn and snare drum.b

I'll send you the whole thing with a picture - I thought some of it was
pretty
interesting.
Auralie

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Island Jim
Southwest Florida
27.0 N, 82.4
Zone 10a
Minimum 30 F [-1 C]

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