Common Froghopper

The Common Froghopper is small (at between 4 and 7 millimetres in length), but their jumping ability—courtesy of its extraordinary hind leg muscles—enables it to jump 70cm into the air.

Species introduction

At a glance
Latin name: 
Philaenus spumarius
Family: 
Spittlebugs
Family Latin name: 
Aphrophoridae
Category: 
Insects other
Vernacular names: 

Meadow Froghopper, Meadow Spittlebug

 

Species description

Species description

Most of us never get to see the Common Froghopper (Philaenus spumarius), although anyone walking in gardens or the countryside is likely to have seen the white froth produced by their nymphs on plant stems in spring and summer. This 'Cuckoo spit' froth shields the nymphs from predators and prevents them from drying out.

Although the 'Common' Froghopper may be common—in the sense of it being commonplace and found throughout Britain—it is decidedly unusual in that it has a staggering variety of colours. (In one site in Leicestershire, 40 variations were found in one day!).

These creatures are small (at between 4 and 7 millimetres in length), but their jumping ability—courtesy of their extraordinary hind leg muscles—enables them to jump 70cm into the air.

Species photographs

Larger photograph(s) (click to magnify)
The Common Froghopper is small (at between 4 and 7 millimetres in length), but its jumping ability—courtesy of its extraordinary hind leg muscles—enables it to jump 70cm into the air.
Nymphs of these insects produce 'Cuckoo spit' froth to shield themselves from predators and prevent themselves from drying out.

Details

Species family information

There are perhaps 1,000 spittlebugs worldwide. All jump many times their height and length and most are plant-sucking insects, which in their nymphal stage often create foam shelters on plants that are variously known as cuckoo spit, frog spit or snake spit.

Category information

Insects evolved in the Ordovician from a crustacean ancestral lineage as terrestrial invertebrates with six legs (the Hexapoda). This was the time when terrestrial plants first appeared. In the Devonian some insects developed wings and flight, the first animals to do so. An early flying group was the Odonata from the Carboniferous, the damselflies and dragonflies, which have densely-veined wings and long, ten-segmented bodies. They are day-flying carnivores, with an aquatic larval stage, so are commonly seen flying near water. The carnivorous larvae are called nymphs. Odonata species are short-lived, damselflies surviving for 2-4 weeks, dragonflies for up to 2 months.

Some insect groups in the Cretaceous co-evolved with the flowering plants, and they have had a close association ever since. These groups are the Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, and ants), the Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), the Diptera (flies), and the Coleoptera (beetles). The diversity of beetles is astonishing. Of all the known animal species on the planet, one in five is a beetle!