Read about related Homoptera by using the "Forward" and "Backward" device icons. Homoptera are similar to the Hemiptera true bugs. In addition to differences in the origin of their sucking mouthparts, Homoptera have a uniformly thickened forewings that overlap slightly at the tips. Homoptera groups include cicadas, leaf hoppers, whiteflies, aphids and scale insects.

Short Tailed Mealybug Pseudococcus spp. Homoptera Pseudococcidae These two long legged formic acid ant are harvesting a sweet meal from a herd of accommodating mealy bugs on a sisal plant (Agave sisalana) on Kauai. Mealybugs are cryptic insects covered with a white waxy powder. They feed in groups by puncturing the leaves and sucking out a meal of plant juice. After dining they secrete a sweet substance called honeydew that the ant are attracted to. Males have a single pair of wings and fly to diverse their populations. Mealybugs are topical insects and feed on a variety of tropical plants such as ginger and heleconia. Ants facilitate spreading the mealybug populations to new plants, which in sufficient numbers, can weaken the plants. View the Index of Orders View Complete Photo List Ants, Bees & Wasps Butterflies & Moths Flies Beetles Lacewings & Antlions Leafhoppers & Cicadas True Bugs Cockroaches Praying Mantids Grasshoppers, Crickets Walking Sticks Dragonflies & Damselflies Mayflies Non-Insects