Froghoppers

Froghoppers are particularly known for the froth they make along the stems of various plants. The nymph stage living in this froth are known as spittlebugs. The froth, also called cuckoo or snake spit, protects them from dehydration and predators. These nymphs differ from the adult animals by the light green color. Adults jump away as soon as you try to catch one.

The Cercopidae (spittlebugs or froghoppers) form the largest xylem-sap sucking family group in the Cercopoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha). The cercopids are characterized by their bright colour patterns and by the copious amounts of protective frothy excreta produced by their young. They are characterized by the presence of one or two spines on hind tibiae laterally, and one or more rows of spines apically. Cercopids are extremely proficient at jumping, and feed on a variety of plants, principally on pasture grasses and sugar cane, hence their common Latin American names of ‘cigarrinhas-das-pastagens’ and ‘cigarrinhas-da-cana-de-açúcar’.

Cercopidae are the largest family of Cercopoidea, a xylem-feeding insect group, commonly called froghoppers or spittlebugs. They belong to the hemipteran suborder Auchenorrhyncha.