Ocean Strider vs Small Brown Planthopper

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Ocean Strider Small Brown Planthopper
Scientific Name Halobates micans Laodelphax striatellus
Order Hemiptera Hemiptera
Family Gerridae Delphacidae
Size 4-5 mm 2-4 mm
Habitat Beaches & Coastal Farmland
Diet Omnivores Sap Feeders
Regions Tropical Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans East Asia, Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Ocean Strider

A remarkable open-ocean water strider that spends its entire life on the surface of tropical seas. It is one of the very few insects adapted to a fully marine existence. It lays eggs on floating debris including feathers and seaweed.

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Did You Know?

It is one of the only insects to have colonized the open ocean and can be found thousands of kilometers from the nearest land, surviving storms and wave action.

Small Brown Planthopper

A tiny brown-striped delphacid planthopper that vectors rice stripe virus and rice black-streaked dwarf virus. It has a characteristic spur on its hind tibiae typical of delphacids.

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Did You Know?

Unlike tropical rice planthoppers, this species can overwinter in temperate regions, surviving cold winters as nymphs in grass tussocks.