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Glite Dictionary
treehopper

treehopper

9.8
A small insect that jumps and eats sap from tree branches
  • noun
  • /ˈtriːˌhɒpər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : saltamontes de árbol
  • In the garden, we spotted a tiny treehopper hopping between the leaves of a nearby shrub.

Examples

  • Wood et al. (1990) reported that when treehoppers were forced to oviposit in novel plants, the eggs hatched in relation to the phenology of the adopted rather than the parental host.

    Academic text (1996)

  • The treehopper is known for its ability to jump from one branch to another while feeding on sap.

  • After examining the branch, I found a treehopper hiding among the twigs, feeding on the plant juices.

Synonyms

Membracidae
vstreehopper
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of small plant-eating insects with a large, often fancy hump on their back

is a single small jumping insect in that family that feeds on twig juices

Surface Forms

treehopper singular
treehoppers plural

Morphology

treehopper = tree + hopper (transparent) = tree + hopper

The compound is a straightforward combination of 'tree' + 'hopper' meaning a hopper associated with trees, which a B1 learner can deduce.

Etymology

Treehopper is easy to remember because it joins tree and hopper, and hopper means 'one who hops', just like in grasshopper. So a treehopper is a small insect that lives on branches, jumps away to escape danger, and feeds on the branch's juices.