Treehoppers are a diverse group of plant-feeding insects comprising approximately 3,200 species worldwide. Currently, these species are placed in three separate families (Melizoderidae, Aetalionidae, and Membracidae), of which Membracidae is by far the largest and most widespread. Most membracids may be easily distinguished from related Hemiptera by their enlarged and often highly ornate pronotum (the dorsal part of the first thoracic segment).

These insects have long attracted attention because of their bizarre forms and unusual behaviors. Many species are gregarious, forming large and often conspicuous groups of adults and immatures. Some of these are ant-mutualistic and may also exhibit presocial behavior. Most species are solitary and these are often cryptic, at least as immatures. True to their name, treehoppers are most abundant in forest or savanna habitats, particularly in the tropics, where they utilize a wide variety of tree species as host plants. Nevertheless, many species feed on herbaceous host plants, at least for part of their life cycle. [1]

Most treehoppers can be indentified by their distinctive pronotum, which often bears spines, bulbs, "thorns" and other bizarre structures. The pronotum extends back over the membraneous flying wings and abdomen, doubtless as camouflage and to protect the more delicate structures. Males and females of the same species can have quite different pronotal shapes and colors; their gender may be only determined by an examination of the male genitalia.

Individual treehoppers usually live for only a few months, but they belong to a lineage that is at least 40 million years old. Treehopper fossils are extremely rare and nearly all of the fossil species previously thought to represent extinct treehopper species have proven to belong to other groups of insects. The oldest undoubted treehopper fossils are specimens of a few as yet undescribed species from amber found in the Dominican Republic. Unlike the leafhopper fossils known from Dominican amber, which closely resemble modern species, the amber treehoppers differ from modern treehoppers in many respects. [1]