psyllid whose lerp shelters on the underside of leaves

Size
Length: 0.2–0.5 cm
Lifespan
1 years
Diet
Herbivorous - feeds on plant sap using its piercing-sucking mouthparts. Many species are host-specific, feeding on only one type of native plant including Pittosporum and Kowhai. Adults can jump when disturbed, earning them the name "jumping plant-lice". New Zealand has high diversity of native psyllids, many of which are poorly studied.
Habitat
Found on a wide variety of native plants, including Pittosporum and Kowhai. They are the "acrobats of the foliage," capable of surprising leaps.
Range
New Zealand - found throughout the North and South Islands in native forests, scrublands, and gardens where host plants grow. Most common in lowland areas with diverse native plant communities, particularly where Pittosporum and Kowhai are present.
Endemism
Native
Main Threats
Habitat loss from forest clearance and removal of native host plants. Also threatened by competition from introduced psyllid species, and by pesticide use in gardens which kills adults. Many native species are poorly studied and their conservation status is unknown.
Population
New Zealand has a very high diversity of native psyllids, many of which are "host-specific," meaning they only live on one particular type of native tree.
Conservation Status
Not Threatened
Resembling a miniature, high-speed cicada, the Psyllid (family Psyllidae) is the "high-speed sap-sucker" of the New Zealand botanical landscape, defined by an anatomy built for sudden, explosive movement. These hemipterans are specialized "jumping plant-lice" that utilize incredibly powerful, enlarged hind legs to "snap" into the air at the slightest vibration, vanishing from a leaf surface in a fraction of a second. This biological launch is so rapid that it often exceeds the visual processing speed of many predators, making the Psyllid a master of "reactionary speed." Their life cycle is deeply intertwined with specific host plants, such as kōwhai, pittosporum, or pōhutukawa, where they use needle-like mouthparts to drink nutrient-rich sap directly from the leaf veins. Many native Psyllid species are "specialized residents" famous for their ability to induce "galls"—strange, lumpy, or colorful growths on the surface of leaves that act as a protected, nutrient-rich nursery for their developing nymphs. By manipulating the plant’s own growth hormones, the Psyllid creates a structural fortress that shields its young from desiccation and parasitic wasps. This represents a state of "targeted success," where a creature has found a singular, perfect niche within the New Zealand bush and mastered the chemistry required to inhabit it. Their presence is a definitive sign of "specific biodiversity," proving that even a common native hedge is a complex, specialized world where a single insect and a specific tree have evolved in a million-year partnership. While currently classified as not threatened, Psyllids are vital indicators of the health of our native plant corridors and the "interdependence of life." They serve as a primary food source for a variety of small insectivorous birds, including the riroriro (grey warbler), which meticulously gleans them from the foliage. Protecting these jumping residents is a matter of acknowledging the "specific agility" required to survive in a competitive forest and preserving the unique botanical hosts they depend upon. To encounter a Psyllid as it launches into the canopy is to witness a survivor that has turned a high-tension jump into a sophisticated art form, a creature that proves that the most enduring successes are often those built on deep, singular connections to the land.