Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
12
Family
CERCOPIDAE
(froghoppers)
Often called 'spittle-bugs'. The nymphs develop on
plants within a mass of froth (cuckoo-spit), produced as
a fluid from the hind end of the body and through
which air bubbles are forced from a special canal by
abdominal contractions. Fore wings (elytra) hardened
throughout. The hind tibiae of adults bear just a few
stout spines (cf. leafhoppers, p. 31).
Aphrophora alni
(Fallén) (
12
)
Alder froghopper
A common pest of deciduous trees and shrubs,
including alder (
Alnus
), ash (
Fraxinus excelsior
), poplar
(
Populus
) and willow (
Salix
). Eurasiatic. Widespread in
Europe.
12
Alder froghopper (
Aphrophora alni
).
DESCRIPTION
Adult:
8.0-9.5 mm long; light greyish brown to dark
olive-brown, with deep blackish punctures; head and
pronotum with a median keel; elytra with a pair of pale
patches.
Nymph:
mainly greyish to creamy white, with
a distinctive pair of dark spots on the head between
the eyes.
LIFE HISTORY
Eggs, deposited on host plants during the summer or
early autumn, hatch in the following spring. The
nymphs then feed within large, dripping accumulations
of spittle which are often grouped on the young shoots.
These nymphal feeding shelters are most obvious in
June. Adults appear from late June onwards.
LIFE HISTORY
Eggs are laid from July to October, each being
deposited close to the ground in the old tissue of host
plants. They hatch in the following spring, nymphs then
developing within distinctive, round accumulations of
spittle, concentrated mainly on the lower parts of plants.
Adults appear from late June onwards, ascending host
plants to feed on the young tissue.
DAMAGE
Feeding by the nymphs affects the vigour and quality of
host plants, and the presence of masses of spittle on
ornamentals is unsightly.
Philaenus spumarius
(Linnaeus) (
15-16
)
syn.
P. leucophthalmus
(Linnaeus)
Common froghopper
nymph
DAMAGE
The nymphs cause little direct damage. However, young
adults produce distinctive calloused rings on the shoots,
often weakening the new growth.
cuckoo-spit bug
Generally abundant on a wide variety of trees, shrubs
and low-growing plants; often a minor pest of lavender
(
Lavendula
) and various other ornamentals, including
barberry (
Berberis
), bellflower (
Campanula
),
Chrysanthemum
,
Coreopsis
,
Geum
, golden-rod
(
Solidago virgaurea
),
Lychnis
,
Mahonia
, Michaelmas
daisy (
Aster
),
Phlox
, rose (
Rosa
),
Rudbeckia
and many
others. Holarctic. Present throughout Europe.
=
Aphrophora salicina
(Goeze) (
13-14
)
syn.
A. grisea
Haupt;
A. salicis
(Degeer)
Willow froghopper
A generally common pest of poplar (
Populus
) and
willow (
Salix
); often established on ornamental and
amenity trees. Widespread throughout Europe; also
present in North America.
DESCRIPTION
Adult:
5-7 mm long; colour varying from yellowish,
greenish or brown to blackish; head bluntly wedge-
shaped, with large eyes; elytra convex, and often with
dark markings; each hind tibia with an apical ring of
spines.
Egg:
1 mm long; oval.
Nymph:
mainly pale and
unicolourous, with dark eyes.
DESCRIPTION
Adult:
10.0-10.5 mm long; greyish yellow or greenish
to olive-brown, finely punctured with black; elytra
sometimes with an indistinct whitish basal triangular
spot; head and thorax distinctly keeled.
Nymph:
head
and thorax reddish brown; abdomen creamy white.
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