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Treehoppers’ bizarre, wondrous helmets


Still Waters

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As their name suggests, treehoppers are capable of some amazing acrobatics. But these cicada relatives are even more intriguing to scientists for the stupendous structures that sprout from their backs. These outgrowths, called helmets, are present on all 3,300 species of treehopper, varying dramatically in appearance. Likely for the sake of avoiding predation, the helmets can take the form of thorns, leaves, feces or even other bugs, like ants or wasps.

Evolutionary biologists have long puzzled over these helmets, which resemble nothing else in nature, and how they became so diverse. In 2011, a team of researchers led by Benjamin Prud’homme proposed a theory that suggested the wonky structures were actually highly modified sets of wings.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/treehoppers-bizarre-wondrous-helmets-use-wing-genes-grow-180973713/

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