They can easily be recognized from other insect nymphs by the branched spines that occur on the tops of their abdomens. Sometimes treehoppers are found on weeds or trees with many ants surrounding them. When an ant touches a treehopper with its antennae, the hopper exudes a sweet substance similar to honeydew given off by aphids that the ant likes to eat. This type of behavior also occurs be tween ants and aphids. The next time you see a trail of ants leading to a plant or large numbers of ants on a plant, check to see whether any treehoppers or aphids are also nearby.
Treehoppers have few natural enemies.
They do, from time to time, become ensnared in spider webs, but the spiders usually discard them be cause they cannot bite through the pronotum. A few get stung by predaceous wasps which in turn take them to brood cells where they become food for their larvae. Most treehoppers have a one year life cycle in the North. Eggs which are laid during the summer hatch the following spring and ensuing adults live until autumn. Adults are thus collected best from early July to the end of October or until the first frost.