Leaf Bug

A rather slender looking insect the leaf bug is also known as true plant bugs. It belongs to the large and diverse insect family Miridae and order Heteroptera that consist of over 10,000 known species. They are small, terrestrial insects, and in entomological parlance known as Phasmatodea. They are also known as ghost insects, because of their famed ability to disguise themselves in the environment they live in.

Leaf Bug Information
As the order consists of large number of species, it is difficult to pinpoint just one kind of insect and classify it as a leaf bug. The leaf bug is very adept at concealing or camouflaging itself, like its cousin the stick insect. This ability makes it extremely difficult to spot them. Leaf bugs have their skeleton on the outer side of their body like all other members of the insect family which is made of a protein call chitin.

Leaf Bug Identification
Depending on the species, a leaf bug could be oval or elongated in shape. They are usually small in size, mostly less than 12mm in length, but some 18 to 20 mm long ones have also been sighted. They could be bright green or brown or a dull shade. As they use their colors to camouflage themselves in the plants they are always green or brown. They may be wingless or can have about two pairs of wings.

Leaf Bug Diet
Leaf bugs are herbivorous, and they feed mostly on the leaves of trees and shrubs. They seem to have a fondness for raspberry and blackberry leaves. As they are so good in disguising themselves, incidences of a leaf bug trying to nibble on another leaf bug have been caught on camera. They can also suck on a thorn or a stump of a branch for juices. Another one of its primary food sources is the eucalyptus leaf. And in adverse conditions where their own food sources run short, they are known to eat young ones of other bugs, but never their own. If you are fond of collecting insects as pets, make sure they have an ample supply of cut evergreen oak, berry bush, or eucalyptus leaves available, especially during winters.

Leaf Bug Reproduction
One of the amazing leaf bug facts include the leaf bugs capacity to reproduce, which ensures that our gardens and forest are never running short on their population. Female leaf bugs are significantly larger and wider than the males who have long slender bodies and large wings. Male and female leaf bugs mate as soon as they molt (periodic shedding of the cuticle in arthropods) for the last time. Depending on type of species, a single female leaf bug may lay from 100 to 1,200 eggs after mating in their lifespan. Female bugs camouflage the eggs to resemble as plant seeds. The eggs mostly hatch in warm climates, so if laid during winters can lay dormant for a full season before hatching. The young leaf bugs are known as nymphs.

A single leaf bug lives only for a year. But it is a year of a camouflage so good that even their predators get fooled, and if that does not work, they are quite capable of secreting a substance from glands that can cause an intense burning irritation of the eyes and mouth of their predators!