Green and Red Wattle Hopper - Chewobrachys sanguiflua ( former Platybrachys sanguiflua)


Female, body length 15mm

Chewobrachys is the new genus of family Eurybrachyidae. This genus include two species, the C. sanguiflua and C. limbourgi, they are found in Eastern Australian. This C. sanguiflua species can be found in Brisbane.

Jerôme Constant is revising the classification of family Eurybrachyidae. This new genus Chewobrachys is created in the process of reviewing the Australian genus Platybrachys. Jerôme kindly used our family name Chew and brachys (Greek = short, common ending of generic names in family Eurybrachyidae) to form the name of this new genus.




In 2001 we first found this planthopper (in photo above) in Wishart Outlook. We did not see them again until Jerôme Constant in 2008 asked us if we can find them in Brisbane. They are not as common as the other Board-frons Planthoppers species and they have very good camouflaged colour patterns. We did take a while to find them again.

Following photos were taken on March 2008 in Karawatha Forest near the hill top Baileyana Outlook. When we found those planthoppers, they were hiding on a large Acacia tree trunk, all were resting in large cracks on the bark. They were well camouflaged and hard to be spotted.

Female



There were three Green and Red Wattle Hoppers there. They were resting on Acacia tree trunk about a meter from ground, all face downwards. After I took a few photos, all of them wake up (?) and turned around facing upwards. They then walked quickly up towards the trees tops. All of them have the green frons and pinky-red abdomen, they were all females.



Females look a bit more colourful than males. Females have the mottled green frons. Front wings are brown with irregular, whitish to pale greyish markings, suffused with pale greenish patch and transverse white band. Hind wings are brown with base bright red in colours. Legs are bright red with tibiae and tarsi in dark brown. Abdomen is bright red in colour.



The about picture shows a male planthopper hiding about two meters from ground on another Acacia tree trunk. This planthopper had the patterns on wings less contrast than the three mentioned above, and its frons was not green in colour. It was the male Green and Red Wattle Hoppers and was less colourful.



The one in above photos was found on another smaller Acacia tree near by. The tree was smaller and had no large cracks so the hopper could not hide. The hopper was sun-bathing on the tree trunk.



The third male planthopper found on another Acacia tree near by.

Males are less colourful with grey to brown frons.

All those hoppers walked away from our disturbed. They jumped only when touched.



Found one female on Jun 2008 in Karawatha Forest Rocky Circuit.



Found another female on Nov 2008 near Bulimba Creek in Wishart bushland. After we learnt how and where to find there there became not too difficult to spot. They were usually found hiding on cracks on large Acacia tree trunk.





We found those adults and nymphs on the same tree trunk in Karawatha Forest on Feb 2010.

The tree was Hickory Wattle, with stringy type of bark like the gidgee, but not sure which spices. That tree was the largest and tallest Acacia in that area, was about 6-8 meters tall. Tree trunk diameter was about 20cm.

Hickory Wattle


In the small area near by there were 5-6 Acacia trees of the same species. I checked those trees as well and found three more hopper adults and one nymph.










Acacia disparrima, tall up to 9m or more

Reference:
1. Revision of the Eurybrachidae (XIII). The new Australian genus Chewobrachys (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha) - JEROME CONSTANT, Zootaxa 1898: 41-54 (13 Oct. 2008).
2. Family Eurybrachyidae - Fletcher, M.J. and Larivière, M.-C. (2009 and updates).
3. Genus Platybrachys Stål sensu lato - By Murray J. Fletcher, 08 April 2007.
4. Genus Chewobrachys Constant, 2008 - Australian Faunal Directory, Australian Biological Resources Study, 2008.
5. Acacia disparrima (MIMOSACEAE) Hickory Wattle - Robert Whyte, Save Our Waterways Now, 2012.
6. Wild Plants of Greater Brisbane - Queensland Museum, 2003, p118.