I am trying to identify this creature... I took the shot in Medellín, Colombia. It is about 1cm in size.
1 Answer
This is the nymph stage of a planthopper, an insect in a suborder of the hemipterans.
The "fiber-optic-like" tail is actually made out of wax! From Wikipedia
Nymphs of many [planthoppers] produce wax from special glands on the abdominal terga and other parts of the body. These are hydrophobic and help conceal the insects. Adult females of many families also produce wax which may be used to protect eggs.
The fact that there are about 12,5000 species of planthoppers and I am fully unfamiliar with the fauna of Colombia, I can only provide a quick image confirming that it is a planthopper. (Perhaps you have a field guide or key available to you to help ID to genus or species)
Credit: Malcolm Burrows, source
You can find an aditional image of a species more similar to yours here.
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$\begingroup$ thanks so much! I was able to find this other video youtube.com/watch?v=jPCRwuPpf9M $\endgroup$ Commented May 3, 2020 at 0:54