Umbonia crassicornis
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Umbonia crassicornis, commonly known as the thorn bug, is a widespread member of the insect family Membracidae, and an occasional pest of ornamentals and fruit trees in southern Florida. The body length of the adult is approximately 10 millimetres (0.39 in). This is a variable species as to size, color and structure, particularly the pronotal horn of males (which is more angled posteriorly than the females' and often somewhat expanded apically). This tall, essentially perpendicular thornlike pronotum discourages birds and other predators from eating it, if only by mistakenly confusing it with a thorn. Typically, the adult is green or yellow with reddish lines and brownish markings.
The species is restricted to warmer climates where temperatures stay, on average, above zero. This limits the species to the tropical regions of Northern South America to Mexico and Florida. Any range of temperature below 0 degrees is fatal resulting in a 10-90 percent decrease in the population as temperature decreases. Its preferred hosts are ornamental and fruit trees of subtropical regions feeding on sap inside the plants.
Female Umbonia crassicornis often deposit... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cali | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 2 | Caracas | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 3 | Guadalajara | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 4 | Medellín | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 5 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Thorn Treehopper sighting in Everglades National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 354th most-seen of the 496 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November and December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Thorn Treehopper in Everglades National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January to October, the lowest months. Those are among Everglades National Park's driest months, with about 60 mm of rain a month against 240 mm in June.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Thorn Treehopper sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Thorn Treehopper sightings, Everglades National Park has the highest daily chance: under 5%. Next come La Amistad International Park (Panama) (Panama, under 5%).
Same order: Hemiptera
The closest relatives of the Thorn Treehopper that you can see in Everglades National Park (order Hemiptera, True Bugs, Hoppers, Aphids, and allies) are Common Cotton Stainer Bug (about 20%), Milkweed Assassin Bug (about 20%) and Florida Leaf-Footed Bug (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Thorn Treehopper is recorded against all the insects logged in Everglades National Park (7 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
