Report by Shuchi Giridhar
In the Ugandan Rainforest, a species of a new insect has been found. The rarity of this insect is confirmed by the fact that its closest known relative was last spotted over 50 years ago. The species was found by a British scientist doing fieldwork in a park in western Uganda. This insect, a species of leafhopper from the family cicadas, has been named Phlogis kibalensis.
Before this, the last time a specimen from the Phlogis genus was spotted was in 1969 in the Central African Republic.
Leafhoppers are very closely related to the family cicadas. Many invertebrates such as spiders, beetles, and parasitic wasps, along with birds feed on leafhoppers. The main source of food for leafhoppers is the sap found in leaves.
Dr Alvin Helden of Anglia Ruskin University has found the species. He published his data on it in the journal Zootaxa. He said that this was his first time discovering a new species.
He said that Phlogis kibalensis is a part of the leafhopper family. The only difference is that leafhoppers are much much smaller in size, otherwise their structure and colour are the same. He also stated that leafhoppers belonging to this genus are unusually shaped and are wide, their biology is unknown because of how rare they are.
Student field trips have been led by the entomologist to the Kibale National park, since 2015.
Documenting the insects found by him in the park has been a part of the field trips. To this day, he has recorded the Kibale butterflies, hawkmoths, tortoise beetles, and many other insects. He stated that he has always wanted to compile his insect identification guide, so that all the students that he takes on field trips can identify the insects. But since he doesn’t have enough pictures, he has not been able to compile a manual.