Cercopoidea Checklist: Froghoppers
Froghoppers from the superfamily Cercopoidea are also known as spittlebugs. They are best known for encasing themselves with a foam fortress during their nymphal stages, presumably for defense. Despite the name spittlebug, the foam is not created by spittle, but by its urine. Yes, they smother themselves with their pee-froth when young.
Checklist
This page consists of a personal checklist of all froghoppers or spittlebugs (Cercopoidea) that I’ve encountered over the years. Most were identified with the help from the kind folks on Flickr and Facebook, especially from Les Day.
All photos are of live subjects shot in the field, with the lateral and dorsal views selected where available. Click on individual photos for larger views and views from other angles. As specimens were not collected, identifications were done purely based on photographs and may not be 100% accurate.
This page will be updated regularly, please let me know if you spot any mistakes.
View my complete Flickr photo set: Cercopoidea – Froghoppers.
Region Filters
Click on any region to show only records from that region.
Class: Insecta Linnaeus, 1758
Order: Hemiptera Linnaeus, 1758
Superfamily: Cercopoidea Leach, 1815
Family: Aphrophoridae Amyot & Serville, 1843
Ecuador: Aphrophoridae P6142888
Ecuador: Aphrophoridae P6142890
East Malaysia: Aphrophoridae P7074137
East Malaysia: Aphrophoridae P7074135
East Malaysia: Aphrophoridae P7084500
East Malaysia: Aphrophoridae P7084495
Singapore: Aphrophoridae P7190882
Singapore: Aphrophoridae P7190879
East Malaysia: Aphrophoridae P7095218
Genus: Clovia Stål, 1866
Singapore: Clovia conifera (Walker, 1851)
Genus: Plinia Stål, 1866
Singapore: Plinia ampla (Walker, 1851)
Singapore: Plinia ampla (Walker, 1851)
Singapore: Plinia punctipennis Schmidt, 1919
Singapore: Plinia punctipennis Schmidt, 1919
Genus: Ptyelinellus Lallemand, 1946
Singapore: Ptyelinellus praefractus (Distant, 1908)
Singapore: Ptyelinellus praefractus (Distant, 1908)
Genus: Ptyelus Le Peletier & Serville, 1825
Madagascar: Ptyelus goudoti (Bennett, 1833)
Family: Cercopidae Leach, 1815
Genus: Amberana Distant, 1908
Madagascar: Amberana marginata (Falloe, 1890)
Madagascar: Amberana marginata (Falloe, 1890)
Genus: Callitettix Stål, 1865
Cambodia: Callitettix versicolor (Fabricius, 1794)
* Unnamed form with white posterior spots
Cambodia: Callitettix versicolor (Fabricius, 1794)
* Unnamed form with white posterior spots
Genus: Considia Stål, 1865
West Malaysia: Considia pulverosula (Breddin, 1902)
West Malaysia: Considia pulverosula (Breddin, 1902)
Genus: Cosmoscarta Stål, 1869
West Malaysia: Cosmoscarta abdominalis (Donovan, 1798)
West Malaysia: Cosmoscarta abdominalis (Donovan, 1798)
Thailand: Cosmoscarta septempunctata (Walker, 1851)
Thailand: Cosmoscarta septempunctata (Walker, 1851)
Genus: Eoscarta Breddin, 1902
East Malaysia: Eoscarta flavipes Schmidt, 1925 or
Eoscarta borneensis Lallemand, 1949
Genus: Leptataspis Schmidt, 1910
West Malaysia: Leptataspis ophir (Distant, 1900)
West Malaysia: Leptataspis ophir (Distant, 1900)
West Malaysia: Leptataspis sp.
West Malaysia: Leptataspis sp.
Genus: Mahanarva Distant, 1909
Ecuador: Mahanarva sp.
Ecuador: Mahanarva sp.
Genus: Opistharsostethus Schmidt, 1911
West Malaysia: Opistharsostethus cf. globosicollis Schmidt, 1911
* Posterior internal pair of spots shows slight variation
West Malaysia: Opistharsostethus cf. globosicollis Schmidt, 1911
* Posterior internal pair of spots shows slight variation
East Malaysia: Opistharsostethus sp. P7084676
East Malaysia: Opistharsostethus sp. P7084678
Genus: Oxypeltarion Lallemand & Synave, 1961
West Malaysia: Oxypeltarion cf. masoni (Distant, 1879)
West Malaysia: Oxypeltarion cf. masoni (Distant, 1879)
Genus: Phymatostetha Stål, 1870
East Malaysia: Phymatostetha borneensis (Butler, 1874)
East Malaysia: Phymatostetha borneensis (Butler, 1874)
Singapore: Phymatostetha dislocata (Walker, 1857)
Singapore: Phymatostetha dislocata (Walker, 1857)
Thailand: Phymatostetha karenia Distant, 1900
Thailand: Phymatostetha karenia Distant, 1900
West Malaysia: Phymatostetha stellata (Guerin-Meneville,1844)
West Malaysia: Phymatostetha stellata (Guerin-Meneville,1844)
Thailand: Phymatostetha sp.
Thailand: Phymatostetha sp.
Genus: Sphenorhina Amyot & Audinet-Serville, 1843
Ecuador: Sphenorhina quadrifera (Jacobi, 1908)
Ecuador: Sphenorhina quadrifera (Jacobi, 1908)
Genus: Trichoscarta Breddin, 1902
West Malaysia: Trichoscarta sp.
West Malaysia: Trichoscarta sp.
East Malaysia: Trichoscarta sp.
Genus: Tropidorhinella Schmidt, 1910
Ecuador: Tropidorhinella sp.
Ecuador: Tropidorhinella sp.
Unidentified Cercopidae
Ecuador: Cercopidae P6067762
Ecuador: Cercopidae P6067766
Thailand: Cercopidae PB193229
Thailand: Cercopidae PB193226
East Malaysia: Cercopidae P7073465
East Malaysia: Cercopidae P7073469
West Malaysia: Cercopidae DSC_4188
West Malaysia: Cercopidae DSC_4180
West Malaysia: Cercopoidea 6483
West Malaysia: Cercopoidea 6488
East Malaysia: Cercopidae P7095027
Family: Clastopteridae Dohrn, 1859
Ecuador: Clastoptera sp. P6154268
Ecuador: Clastoptera sp. P6154266
Ecuador: Clastoptera sp. P6154941
Ecuador: Clastoptera sp. P6154936
Family: Machaerotidae Stål, 1866
Genus: Machaerota Burmeister, 1835
Singapore: Machaerota cf. notoceras Schmidt, 1907
Singapore: Machaerota cf. notoceras Schmidt, 1907
Genus: Taihorina Schumacher, 1915
Singapore: Taihorina batangana (Lallemand, 1951)
Singapore: Taihorina batangana (Lallemand, 1951)
Nymphs
Singapore: Cercopoidea
Singapore: Cercopoidea
Dustin Rhoades
Really appreciate the information and colorful post, Nicky. These guys baffle me!
Take care!
Regards,
Dustin
Nicky Bay
Thanks Dustin! Setting up an entire series of such checklists!
Dmitry
Hello. After a book about spiders, is a book about insects planned?
Nicky Bay
Hi! At the moment no plans for an in-depth book on insects unless I partner with an entomologist. I won’t be able to gather all the information on my own.
Curt
This is a very cool way to show your bug pix. How did you make the page and link to your Flickr content?
Nicky Bay
Thanks Curt! Just have to export for each image in Flickr with HTML code. I did some customisation on my end.