Stats

Lifespan

Annual

Size

Small

Diet

Herbivore

Activity

Diurnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate forest

Range

North America

Movement

Hopping

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Camouflage

Status

Common

About

This small insect lives on the stems of shrubs and trees in temperate forests. It covers its body in white, waxy filaments that look like tufts of cotton to deter predators.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   egg

   A small egg is laid on or near the larval food source and hatches within days or weeks.
2. 2.
   juvenile

   An immature insect feeds and molts, growing through successive instars.
3. 3.
   subadult

   A near-adult insect has wing buds or near-mature form, one molt away from full size.
4. 4.
   adult

   Fully grown, with full wings and adult coloration.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Hemiptera

Family

Flatidae

Genus

Metcalfa

Species

Metcalfa pruinosa