| Latin Name | Observation date | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Ricania speculum | August 06 2025 | Buket Alue Puteh, Aceh, Indonesia |
This is Ricania speculum which is one of the insect pests that is starting to get attention in the world of agriculture, especially because of the potential for major damage to various types of cultivated plants such as chili, corn, tomatoes, eggplant etc. This insect comes from the ricaniidae family and is included in the order hemiptera or is also often referred to as "sucking planthopper", in the last few decades Ricania speculum has begun to spread and is easy to find in agricultural land.
Ricania speculum has distinctive morphological characteristics and is easy to recognize, adult Ricania speculum has a relatively small body size of only 8-10 mm with a wide and dark color, its wings have several patterns but the most prominent white spots and look like a mirror, well if we go to the Latin dictionary and there we will find the sentence "speculum" which if translated will mean "mirror", and this I think will be the initial basis for the origin of the name of this insect which is now attached and they are known by the name "Ricania speculum" throughout the world.
Like most other insects in general, Ricania speculum also has a life cycle starting from eggs, nymphs and adult stages, their eggs are usually laid on trees or host plants that are safe from predators, then the eggs are coated with a wax substance that functions to protect the eggs from predators and the environment, while the nymphs that hatch from the eggs have a grayish white color and have an appearance that resembles cotton or fine fibers, the nymphs move actively and very quickly and this nymph stage is the one that causes the most damage to cultivated plants.
| Camera used | smartphone |
|---|---|
| Lens | - |
| Photography | Ricania speculum |
| Location | Buket Alue Puteh |
| Photographer | @lightofhope |
| Link to original | community |
|---|---|
| Link | https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/304685086 |
| Latitude Longitude | Map | |
|---|---|---|
| =5.080479 | =97.46383 | https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=5.0804793232&mlon=97.4638302997 |
