Bug FAQHorned Treehopper
Centrotus cornutus · Order: Hemiptera · Family: Membracidae
Also called: Treehopper, Horned Tree Hopper, Tree Hopper
Adult horned treehoppers are dark-brown, stocky bugs about 7 to 10 mm long, with reddish eyes and a distinctive horn-like pronotum extension. They live in woodlands and hedgerows across most of Europe and the Near East, feed on a range of trees and shrubs, and are seen from early May to early August.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The body is dark brown. The eyes are round and range from reddish-brown to red. The pronotum is hairy, arches upward and ends in a long, wave-shaped extension with two sharp ear-like horns. The front wings are pale brown, translucent and show clear brown veins.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Males are 7 to 10 mm long, while females are a bit larger.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They inhabit woodlands, beech forests, hedgerows and moderately moist or dry sites.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Both adults and larvae feed on plant juices using piercing-sucking mouthparts. Larvae are found mainly on thistles (Cirsium, Carduus) and nettles (Urtica), while adults prefer poplars, oaks and brambles.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
They overwinter as larvae in leaf litter and complete their development over two years.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults can be seen from early May through early August.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
They occur throughout most of Europe, the eastern Palearctic region and the Near East. In the UK they are one of only two treehopper species.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It resembles the UK’s other treehopper, Gargara genistae, but that species lacks the horn-like pronotum extensions, has a shorter wing-tip extension and is tied to broom.
Source: Wikipedia
Status: introduced in North America. Source: iNaturalist
More photos
Questions people ask
When are horned treehoppers active?
Adults are present from early May until early August.
Source: Wikipedia
What do horned treehoppers look like?
They are dark-brown, about 7 to 10 mm long, with reddish eyes, a hairy pronotum that ends in two horn-like projections, and translucent pale-brown front wings with brown veins.
Source: Wikipedia
Where might I find them?
They live in woodlands, beech forests, hedgerows and other moderately moist or dry areas across most of Europe and the Near East.
Source: Wikipedia
How can I tell them apart from the other UK treehopper?
The other UK treehopper, Gargara genistae, does not have the horn-like pronotum extensions and is associated with broom rather than a wide range of trees.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Membracidae)
Keeled TreehopperEntylia carinata
Buffalo TreehopperStictocephala bisoniaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Oak TreehopperPlatycotis vittata
Mexican TreehopperMembracis mexicanaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Three-cornered Alfalfa HopperSpissistilus festinusDamages trees, gardens or crops
Two-horned TreehopperStictocephala dicerosSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrotus_cornutus
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.