day 9 : phyllotactic spiral
Fairy Rings….with fairies!!
Spiraling Whitefly Larvae and Egg Trails (Aleurodicus sp., Aleyrodidae, Sternorrhyncha, Hemiptera)
These whitefly larvae produce white waxy secretions in the form of sturdier scales and long filaments. The ring pattern on the leaf is made by the adult whiteflies as they lay their eggs in a spiral fashion on a bed of a similar waxy material. In this image, those eggs have hatched (hence the larvae) but the marks from the egg trail remain.
A spiralling whitefly is not a fly but a true bug, a member of the order Hemiptera who all feed on liquid food via stylets, modified tubular mouthparts. To confuse the matter further, adult whiteflies resemble tiny moths, with four wings covered by a white dusting of mealy material that resembles the wing scales in butterflies and moths.
by Sinobug (itchydogimages) on Flickr.
Pu’er, Yunnan, China
See more Chinese true bugs and hoppers on my Flickr site HERE…..
