Female thorn bug or thorn treehopper, Umbonia crassicornis (Insecta: Hemiptera: Membracidae).
Have you ever seen an insect evolved to look like a thorn? This not-quite-sharp photo is one I took during the 2004 NABA biennial meeting in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
Image (resized): by frequent reader, Biosparite.
This is a group-living herbivorous insect that lives in the southern USA. They communicate with each other using vibrations and females provide parental care (predator defense) for their nymphs.
If you are interested to learn more about communication in this, and other, truly fascinating subsocial insect species, read this really interesting paper.
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