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The froghoppers, or the superfamily Cercopoidea, are a group of hemipteran
insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...
s in the suborder
Auchenorrhyncha The Auchenorrhyncha suborder of the Hemiptera contains most of the familiar members of what was called the "Homoptera" – groups such as cicadas, leafhoppers, treehoppers, planthoppers, and spittlebugs. The aphids and scale insects are the othe ...
. Adults are capable of jumping many times their height and length, giving the group their common name, but they are best known for their plant-sucking nymphs which encase themselves in foam in springtime.


Taxonomy

Traditionally, most of this superfamily was considered a single family, the
Cercopidae Cercopidae are the largest family of Cercopoidea, a xylem-feeding insect group, commonly called froghoppers or spittlebugs. They belong to the hemipteran suborder Auchenorrhyncha. Genera A-C *'' Abidama'' *'' Aeneolamia'' *†'' Allocer ...
, but this family has been split into three families for many years now: the
Aphrophoridae The Aphrophoridae or spittlebugs are a family of insects belonging to the order Hemiptera. There are at least 160 genera and 990 described species in Aphrophoridae. European genera * ''Aphrophora'' Germar 1821 * '' Lepyronia'' Amyot & Servill ...
,
Cercopidae Cercopidae are the largest family of Cercopoidea, a xylem-feeding insect group, commonly called froghoppers or spittlebugs. They belong to the hemipteran suborder Auchenorrhyncha. Genera A-C *'' Abidama'' *'' Aeneolamia'' *†'' Allocer ...
, and
Clastopteridae Clastopteridae is a family of spittlebugs in the order Hemiptera. There are at least 10 genera and 100 described species in Clastopteridae. Genera These 10 genera belong to the family Clastopteridae: * '' Allox'' Hamilton, 2014 * '' Clastoptera ...
. More recently, the family
Epipygidae Epipygidae is a lineage of froghoppers in the insect superfamily Cercopoidea. There are at least three genera and about five described species in Epipygidae, found in the American tropics. In addition, there are more than 20 undescribed species ...
has been removed from the Aphrophoridae.


Spittlebug nymphs

These families are best known for the nymphal stage, which produces a cover of foamed-up plant sap visually resembling saliva; the nymphs are therefore commonly known as spittlebugs and their foam as cuckoo spit, frog spit, or snake spit. This characteristic spittle production is associated with the unusual trait of xylem feeding. Whereas most insects that feed on
sap Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separ ...
feed on the nutrient-rich fluid from the
phloem Phloem (, ) is the living tissue in vascular plants that transports the soluble organic compounds made during photosynthesis and known as ''photosynthates'', in particular the sugar sucrose, to the rest of the plant. This transport process is c ...
, Cercopidae utilize the much more dilute sap flowing upward from the roots via the
xylem Xylem is one of the two types of transport tissue in vascular plants, the other being phloem. The basic function of xylem is to transport water from roots to stems and leaves, but it also transports nutrients. The word ''xylem'' is derived from ...
. The large amount of excess water that must be excreted and the evolution of special breathing tubes allow the young spittlebug nymphs to grow in the relatively protective environment of the spittle. Normally an animal shouldn't be able to survive on a diet so low in nutrients, but the insects' digestive system have two symbiotic bacteria that provides them with the essential amino acids. The foam serves a number of purposes. It hides the nymph from the view of predators and parasites, and it insulates against heat and cold, thus providing thermal control and also moisture control; without the foam, the insect would quickly dry up. The nymphs pierce plants and suck
sap Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separ ...
causing very little damage; much of the filtered fluids go into the production of the foam, which has an acrid taste, deterring predators. A few species are serious
agricultural pest A pest is any animal or plant harmful to humans or human concerns. The term is particularly used for creatures that damage crops, livestock, and forestry or cause a nuisance to people, especially in their homes. Humans have modified the environ ...
s. A small family in the group, the
Machaerotidae Machaerotidae are a family of bugs in the superfamily Cercopoidea which were formerly grouped with the other cercopids. They are sometimes called as tube-forming spittle-bugs as the nymphs form a calcareous tube within which they live. These bu ...
, known as the tube spittlebugs, is an outlier among the Cercopoidea because the nymphs live in
calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an ad ...
tubes rather than producing foam as in the other families. File:Spittlebug nymph (unknown species), East Lyn River, Devon, UK - Diliff.jpg, The spittlebug nymph Image:Spittlebug4383.JPG, Nymphal form of spittlebug encased in foam for protection and moisture


Adults

Adult froghoppers jump from plant to plant; some species can jump up to 70 cm vertically: a more impressive performance relative to body weight than
flea Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, a ...
s. The froghopper can accelerate at 4,000 m/s2 over 2 mm as it jumps (experiencing over 400 gs of acceleration). Spittlebugs can jump 100 times their own length. Many species of froghopper resemble leafhoppers, but can be distinguished by the possession of only a few stout spines on the hind tibiae, where leafhoppers have a series of small spines. Members of the family
Machaerotidae Machaerotidae are a family of bugs in the superfamily Cercopoidea which were formerly grouped with the other cercopids. They are sometimes called as tube-forming spittle-bugs as the nymphs form a calcareous tube within which they live. These bu ...
greatly resemble
treehopper Treehoppers (more precisely typical treehoppers to distinguish them from the Aetalionidae) and thorn bugs are members of the family Membracidae, a group of insects related to the cicadas and the leafhoppers. About 3,200 species of treehoppers i ...
s, due to a large thoracic spine, but the spine in machaerotids is an enlargement of the scutellum, where treehoppers have the
pronotum The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum ( dorsal), the prosternum (ventral), and the propleuron (lateral) on e ...
enlarged. Members of the family
Clastopteridae Clastopteridae is a family of spittlebugs in the order Hemiptera. There are at least 10 genera and 100 described species in Clastopteridae. Genera These 10 genera belong to the family Clastopteridae: * '' Allox'' Hamilton, 2014 * '' Clastoptera ...
have their wings modified to form false heads at the tail end, an antipredator adaptation. Many adult
Cercopidae Cercopidae are the largest family of Cercopoidea, a xylem-feeding insect group, commonly called froghoppers or spittlebugs. They belong to the hemipteran suborder Auchenorrhyncha. Genera A-C *'' Abidama'' *'' Aeneolamia'' *†'' Allocer ...
can bleed reflexively from their tarsi, and the hemolymph appears to be distasteful; they are often aposematically colored (see photos).


Evolutionary history

The oldest froghoppers are known from the
Early Jurassic The Early Jurassic Epoch (geology), Epoch (in chronostratigraphy corresponding to the Lower Jurassic series (stratigraphy), Series) is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic Period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-J ...
.
Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretace ...
froghoppers are divided into two main families,
Procercopidae Procercopidae is an extinct family of froghoppers. They are known from the Early Jurassic to early Late Cretaceous of Eurasia. They are one of two main families of Mesozoic froghoppers alongside Sinoalidae. Procercopidae are considered to be the ...
known from the Early Jurassic to early Late Cretaceous of Asia, which are thought to be ancestral to living froghoppers, and
Sinoalidae Sinoalidae is an extinct family of froghoppers known from the late Middle Jurassic to the early Late Cretaceous of Asia. They are one of two main Mesozoic families of froghoppers, alongside Procercopidae, unlike Procercopidae, Sinoalidae is thou ...
, which is known from the late Middle Jurassic and early Late Cretaceous of Asia. The genus '' Qibinius'' the Middle Jurassic Yanan Formation of China mixes characters of both families and cannot be assigned to either. The genus '' Cercopion'' from the Aptian aged
Crato Formation The Crato Formation is a geologic formation of Early Cretaceous (Aptian) age in northeastern Brazil's Araripe Basin. It is an important Lagerstätte (undisturbed fossil accumulation) for palaeontologists. The strata were laid down mostly during ...
of Brazil appears to be derived from the Procerocopidae and closely related to the crown group.


References


External links


BBC: "Garden insect is jump champion"

List of all Cercopoidea species from COOL database by A Soulier-Perkins in the 2008 Catalogue of Life


* {{Taxonbar, from=Q137213 Aposematic animals Cicadomorpha