Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
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)

Superfamily Cercopoidea - Spittlebugs

Amidst the Spittle - Lepyronia quadrangularis Leaf or plant hopper? - Aphrophora alni Alder Spittlebug - Clastoptera obtusa Clastoptera celtidis - Clastoptera laevigata - male Clastoptera - Clastoptera xanthocephala Clastoptera Spittlebug (arborina complex) - Clastoptera pupating something?
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)
Numbers
~70 spp. in 9 genera of 3 families in our area, ~2,600 spp. in >360 genera of 5 extant families worldwide(1)
Identification
one or two stout spines on the hind tibiae, and a circlet of spines at the apex
Range
worldwide, much more diverse in the tropics(2)
Food
Has a symbiotic relationship with Zinderia insecticola, a B-proteobacteria, that assist in providing the insect with sufficient amino acids.(3)
Remarks
See Also
Cicadellidae (Leafhoppers) have 1-2 rows of spines on the hind tibiae (none in spittlebugs)
Works Cited
1.Soulier-Perkins A. (2007-) Cercopoidea organised on line
2.The Spittlebugs of Canada. Homoptera: Cercopidae
Hamilton, K.G.A. 1982.
3.The Insects : Structure and Function
R. F. Chapman. 1998. Cambridge University Press.
Contributed by Charley Eiseman on 19 January, 2014 - 12:13pm
Additional contributions by v belov, Marci Hess, antarctica
Last updated 24 September, 2023 - 9:44am

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo