Eye-patterned Gum Hopper
Size 17mm. Beautiful hopper found in mixed habitat, formerly pastoral land in a little open forest. It is weird that google produces no results on the type species as per an Australian Museum, Platybrachis oculata, ringed Platybrachys with a reference to Kirk. In GBIF you'll find that Kirk might be referring to Kirkaldi, 1906. For biodiversity database believers, it is interesting to note that GBIF does not seem to index synonyms any longer. Synonyms can not even be found with their own search engine and quite obviously they stay hidden from google, too. Always funny when IT guys are playing taxonomists, or vice versa. It always ends in nothing but bubbles or worse. This species is quite stunning for its two (in some specimens obviously three) black circles on brighter ground, in my case orange. The circles are filled with white dots on one end. Platybrachys maculipennis seems to have those too. The brown body is speckled with whitish, creamy spots and brighter areas. Head is wide and flat, with big lateral eyes. Legs look solid with several tarsi and hooved. I made up the name myself based on the Latin or my understanding of it, videa meaning widow. Maybe reading the original description would help to clarify the origin of the name. Update and correction: I probably owe GBIF an apology. I searched for Platybrachis ocellata - as read on the original museum label. So, my rant on GBIF should hit me back. Maybe I should double- and triple check. Also, the animal is not rarely documented. It can be found at http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_planthoppers/EyepatternHopper.htm. I will adapt their name that seems to suit better than mine. It is an Eye-patterned Gum Hopper. This page even allows me to trace the extremely common nymphs to this species. Actually, I moved the species listed under Mast-tailed Gum Hopper into this gallery.
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