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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies (Hemiptera) » True Hoppers (Auchenorrhyncha) » Cicadas, Spittlebugs, Leafhoppers, and Treehoppers (Cicadomorpha) » Spittlebugs (Cercopoidea) » Aphrophoridae » Aphrophorinae » Philaenini » Philaenus » Meadow Spittlebug (Philaenus spumarius)

Species Philaenus spumarius - Meadow Spittlebug

Classification · Other Common Names · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Food · Remarks · Internet References · Works Cited
Spittlebug - Philaenus spumarius Leafhopper - Philaenus spumarius hopper - Philaenus spumarius Meadow spittlebug - Philaenus spumarius Hemiptera - Philaenus spumarius Philaenus spumarius - Meadow Spittlebug - Philaenus spumarius Spittlebug - Philaenus spumarius Aphrophoridae - Philaenus spumarius
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hemiptera (True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies)
Suborder Auchenorrhyncha (True Hoppers)
Infraorder Cicadomorpha (Cicadas, Spittlebugs, Leafhoppers, and Treehoppers)
Superfamily Cercopoidea (Spittlebugs)
Family Aphrophoridae
Subfamily Aphrophorinae
Tribe Philaenini
Genus Philaenus
Species spumarius (Meadow Spittlebug)
Other Common Names
Common Spittlebug (UK)(1), Common Froghopper (UK)(2), Cuckoo-spit Insect
Explanation of Names
Philaenus spumarius (Linnaeus 1758)
spumarius = 'frothy'
Size
5-7 mm(2)
Identification
Comes in many different color patterns:

According to Dr. Andy Hamilton: If it's a spittlebug, and
(1) it's either entirely black (but not as round as Prosapia or Clastoptera) OR
(2) it has two tiny black spots at the tip of the head
...then it's a meadow spittlebug adult. Raised veins in the wings are also distinctive.
Nymphs are green with black antennae.
Range
adventive NA (mostly e. NA and the Pacific Northwest plus scattered western records) - Map (2)(3)(4), native to, and widespread across the Palaearctic
Food
infests >400 plant species, may damage alfalfa, red clover, wheat, oats, corn, and strawberries
Erigeron glaucus(5)
Remarks
Earliest NA record: NF ca. 1000(6)
Populations suffer when around the larvae of the distantly related plume moth, Platyphilia williamsii as they deny access to optimal feeding sites in the buds of their host plant, Erigeron glaucus.(5)
Internet References
British Bugs(2)
Works Cited
1.Agricultural insect pests of temperate regions and their control
Hill D.S. 1987. Cambridge Univ Press. 659 pp.
2.Bantock T., Botting J. (2010‒) British Bugs, an online identification guide to UK Hemiptera
3.Garden Insects of North America : The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs (Princeton Field Guides)
Whitney Cranshaw. 2004. Princeton University Press.
4.Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
5.Insect Ecology: Behavior, Populations and Communities
P. W. Price, R. F. Denno, M. D. Eubanks. 2011. Cambridge University Press.
6.Short-horned bugs (Hemiptera, Auchenorrhyncha) introduced to North America
Contributed by john and jane balaban on 27 September, 2004 - 8:36pm
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, Mike Quinn, ceiseman, v belov, Marci Hess
Last updated 21 April, 2024 - 1:36pm

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