Wildlifeof Borneo
Black Planthopper
Lanternflies/pb-ricania-speculum.jpg)
Ricania speculum
Basic stats
Diet
Plant sap; recorded on a wide range of cultivated and wild plants
Habitat
Forest edge, plantations, and disturbed vegetation
Range
Borneo, widespread across South and Southeast Asia
Size
Wingspan around 2–2.5cm
About the Black Planthopper
A dark, broad-winged ricaniid planthopper (Ricania speculum) named for its predominantly black to sooty-brown colouring, one of the more frequently encountered planthoppers at forest edges and in gardens across its wide range.
Adults hold their wings steeply tented over the body and often perch in loose groups on stems, feeding on sap; the species is polyphagous and recorded as a minor pest on some crops, though it poses no threat in natural forest. Not assessed for conservation status.
