The Tree-Hoppers 



have been developed in order to bring about protective re- 

 semblance since by these modifications the insects are made to 

 look like different plant structures. The thorn-like process on 



the thorax of the common little tree- 

 hopper of the bitter-sweet (Enchen- 

 opa binotata) is a good example. The 

 insects customarily rest in such posi- 

 tion along the twig of a vine that they 

 precisely resemble vegetable thorns. 

 This family like so many others reaches 

 its most remarkable development in 

 the tropics but many strange forms 

 occur in the United States. The 

 species just mentioned, when en- 

 larged, bears a fanciful resemblance to 

 the partridge and was once the sub- 

 ject of a charming popular article by 

 the late William Hamilton Gibson, 

 entitled "A Queer Little Family on the Bitter-Sweet," published 

 in the Harper's Monthly for August, 1893. A common form is 

 the little hump-backed species known as Telamona monticola. 



Fig. 131. — Ceresa taurina: eggs 

 and young. (After Marlatt.) 



Fig. 132. — Enchenopa binotata. (After Lintner.) 



which somtimes swarms upon the branches of the Virginia 

 creeper in June. Another most interesting form is that known 

 as Entilia sinuata, which is found upon the leaves of sun-flower 

 and other annual plants. This species lays its eggs in the mid- 

 rib of the upper leaves. The mother insect broods over her eggs 



238 



