Your View Of Bugs Will Never Be The Same After Seeing This

Did you know some bugs care for their children like humans and other mammals? I photographed a colony of oak treehoppers over a month and captured an endearing display of maternal care.

Oak treehopper nymphs (babies)

Danae Wolfe / Via Facebook: wolfemacrophotography

In this colony of oak treehoppers, there were several dozen nymphs and a single adult (mama treehopper). Oak treehopper nymphs are red, black, and white with small “spikes” on their backs (most likely for defense from predators like wasps).

Oak treehopper nymphs (babies) lined up in a row

Danae Wolfe / Via Facebook: wolfemacrophotography

During the month I spent photographing this colony of oak treehoppers, the insects never moved far from their oak branch. The nymphs would sometimes crawl onto nearby oak leaves, but they always came back to their branch.

Mama oak treehopper checking on her nymph

Danae Wolfe / Via Facebook: wolfemacrophotography

Mama treehopper was never more than just a few inches away from her colony. She would sit quietly on the same branch as her offspring. Each time I began to photograph the colony, she would quickly move towards her offspring, checking to ensure their safety. When I got too close, mama treehopper would rear up on her forelegs and “snap” her rear legs together which made a clicking noise. This defense mechanism also scared predators like wasps away.

Mama treehopper portrait

Danae Wolfe / Via Facebook: wolfemacrophotography

Mama treehopper never moved far from her young. I usually spotted her sitting solitary just a few inches away.

Molting Nymphs

Danae Wolfe / Via Facebook: wolfemacrophotography

Every few days, the nymphs molted (shed their exoskeleton) as they grew larger. The nymph on the left still has its shed exoskeleton attached.

Newly Emerged Adult Oak Treehopper

Danae Wolfe / Via Facebook: wolfemacrophotography

Eventually, the nymphs emerged as brightly colored adults.

Newly Emerged Adult (left) with Nymph

Danae Wolfe / Via Facebook: wolfemacrophotography

Newly emerged adult (left) with nymph.

Mama Treehopper (right) with Young Adult Offspring

Danae Wolfe / Via Facebook: wolfemacrophotography

I was expecting the newly emerged adult offspring to look like their mama. Much to my surprise, the newly emerged adults were striped! And they were gorgeous. Research from the 1920s (Dozier) suggests their are four forms of oak treehoppers – mottled and striped with a horned and hornless form in each color form. My modern insect field guide, however, suggested that newly emerged adult offspring are striped and darken over two weeks as their wings harden.

Newly Emerged Adult Oak Treehopper

Danae Wolfe / Via Facebook: wolfemacrophotography

The newly emerged adult oak treehoppers were all hornless. Some had small bumps, but none had an impressive horn like their mama. I returned to the arboretum every day in hopes of photographing the newly emerged adults darkening in coloration like their mama.

One Offspring Did Not Develop Properly

Danae Wolfe / Via Facebook: wolfemacrophotography

This is where the story gets interesting. I discovered one of the newly emerged adults had curled wings (left). I assumed the adult was freshly emerged and its wings hadn’t fully dried and straightened. Over the next week or so, however, I noticed the wings of this newly emerged adult treehopper never properly formed.

Aerial View Showing Wing Deformation

Danae Wolfe / Via Facebook: wolfemacrophotography

You can see the extent of the wing deformation in this aerial view. The wings were badly curled.

Danae Wolfe / Via Facebook: wolfemacrophotography

Because this treehopper’s wings never fully formed, it was flightless and could not leave the colony like the rest of the offspring in the colony.

The Best Mama

Danae Wolfe / Via Facebook: wolfemacrophotography

I visited the arboretum everyday to observe and photograph the oak treehoppers. There was a three day gap in getting to the arboretum at one point and much to my disappointment, in that time, all the new adults matured enough to fly away. When I visited the colony for the last time, every last newly emerged adult was gone – except for the one flightless young adult with deformed wings. I expected the mama treehopper to have migrated elsewhere as well. However, mama was a few inches away still watching over her last remaining child.

In summary, bugs are amazing little creatures and deserve more care and attention than we typically give them.