#microleafhopper

Microleafhopper (Kyboasca splendida), taken July 3, 2026, in New Hampshire, US

Tiny microleafhoppers found on Eucalypts. There's three described species in the genus, but there's a high chance this one is undescribed.

I don't know where the unusual name for the genus came from, but the closely related Dziwneono, also endemic to Australia and its Eucalypts, is named from a Polish phrase meaning 'it is strange".

Kahaono montana was the first true bug known produce silk, which it uses as part of the shelters it makes against the weather and other threats.

The Typhlocybinae contains well over 6000 known species, making the microleafhoppers the second largest subfamily of the Cicadellidae, but that number is probably a wild underestimate. Many species are vividly coloured and patterned despite being a few millimeters long, and many are serious plant pests. Kahaono montana, for example, can be so abundant on Eucalytus trees that the leaves become mottled and discoloured.

@ehspereep submitted: I’ve seen these little guys come out in the evening before but never could figure out what they are! Found in Babler State Park (Missouri). Sorry for the poor picture, it really is the best I could get with their size.