Bubble Bug
Kelly’s Field Notes
Common Name: Spittlebug, Froghopper
Order: Hemiptera
Superfamily: Cercopoidea
Family: Aphrophoridae, Cercopidae, Clastopteridae
Genus: 160 genera of Aphrophoridae, 330 genera of Cercopidae, 10 genera of Clastopteridae
Species: 990 species of Aphrophoridae, 2500 species of Cercopidae, 100 species of Clastopteridae
A few species near you:
Diamondback spittlebug (Lepyronia quadrangularis) - Found through the northeastern United States.
Meadow spittlebug (Philaenus spumarius) - found throughout the eastern and western United States, introduced to the west.
Cephisus siccifolius - found throughout central and south America.
Bathyllus albicinctus - found throughout southeastern Australia.
Clovia conifera - found throughout India, southeastern China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Alder Spittlebug (Aphrophora alni) - found broadly throughout eastern and western Europe.
Description:
Spittlebugs resemble planthoppers in body plan (adults have far fewer tibial spines and the thoracic spine comes from the scutellum not the pronotum). They have short round faces with oblong abdomens. Their bodies loosely resemble thorns and other plant protrusions. Spittlebugs of family Clastopteridae have false heads at the ends of their wings as a form of predator deterrent. Like our friends the ladybugs, many adults can force hemolymph from their tarsi, which predators do not want to ingest. Nymphs are yellow to light green, but adults come in many bright colors.
Spittlebugs are known for the frothy sap that protects them as nymphs. It is sometimes called frog spit, cuckoo spit, or snake spit. Spittlebugs feed on the xylem of plants, which is more diluted than phloem (which most insects feed on). The spittlebug ends up taking in a lot of water it doesn’t need, which it excretes in large amounts. As the excretion occurs, the spittlebug’s breathing causes it to foam up and coat its body. The spittle is not good eats, so it protects the bug from predators. It also acts as an insulator and a humidifier, keeping our little buddy warm but not too hot and safe from desiccation. Sometimes nymphs wander out of their foam protection. When this happens they either start a few one, or they join up in another nymph’s foam mass. Sometimes these masses will have several bugs all hunkering down together! The largest belonged to a group of 100 Aphrophora nymphs which was over 30 cm long (over 1 ft).
Spittlebugs of family Machaerotidae do not create foam masses. Instead, they form calcareous tubes to live in. They do this by extracting calcium from the xylem then secreting it as waste, forming a hard tube around their bodies.
Life Cycle:
Female spittlebugs lay their eggs in the crevices of plants or by inserting them, through their sharp ovipositor, into soft plant stems. Once they hatch, the nymphs feed on the xylem of plants, but cannot form their characteristic foam covering until they are second instars. They will feed for 1 to 3 months before molting into an adult, they do not have a pupal stage (we call this incomplete metamorphosis and insects that go through this lifecycle are called hemimetabolous!). Adults live for about 6 months, then the cycle begins again with eggs overwintering.
Super Powers:
Spittle - check out that foam!
Super Jump - spittlebugs are excellent jumpers. Some can jump up to 70cm (28in) vertically! They can jump 100x their own body length.
Super Speed - spittlebugs accelerate at 4,000 m/s2 (13,000 ft/s2) over 2 mm (0.079 in)! While this is happening they experience over 400 gs of acceleration and are not harmed in the process.
Flight - can, but won’t
Bad taste - yucky hemolymph
Spittlebugs in Culture:
Spittlebugs are the main pests of tropical pastures. For example, Brazil has the largest beef cattle herd in the world. The grasses they feed on where they are pasture raised, specifically Marandu palisade grass (Brachiaria brizantha) are frequently infested with spittlebugs reducing their yield.
Spittlebugs have also been problems in sugar cane fields.
References:
Congio, Guilhermo Francklin Souza, et al. "Spittlebug damage on tropical grass and its impact in pasture-based beef production systems." Scientific Reports 10.1 (2020): 10758.
Dietrich, H.R. “Chapter 15 - Auchenorrhyncha: (Cicadas, Spittlebugs, Leafhoppers, Treehoppers, and Planthoppers).” Encyclopedia of Insects (Second Edition), Vincent H. Resh, Ring T. Cardé, 2009, 56-64.
“Family Aphrophoridae - Typical Spittlebugs.” Bugguide.net, 2024, bugguide.net/node/view/145.
“Managing Pests in Gardens: Vegetables: Invertebrates—Spittlebugs.” Ipm.ucanr.edu, ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/VEGES/PESTS/spittlebugs.html.
“Spittlebugs and Froghoppers.” Missouri Department of Conservation, mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/spittlebugs-froghoppers.
Wikipedia Contributors. “Cercopoidea.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Oct. 2024.
Wikipedia Contributors. “Machaerotidae.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Feb. 2025.