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Animal profile

Thorn bug

Umbonia crassicornis

InsectaWoody shrubs and small trees, often legumes, in tropical and subtropical lowlands

Field profile

The thorn bug is a treehopper whose enlarged, spine-shaped pronotum makes a feeding aggregation on a twig look like a row of thorns. Females guard their eggs and nymphs. Like other treehoppers it feeds on phloem sap and excretes honeydew that attracts ants.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2025-08-19

Thorn bug

Treehopper families talk through the branch

Treehoppers make almost no airborne sound. They vibrate the plant stem, and their families communicate along it: a disturbed nymph produces a synchronised group signal, and the guarding mother walks along the branch towards the source and attacks the intruder.

Read with evidence →

Thorn bug | Daily Animal Facts