Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Two-lined Spittlebug

I've seen these bugs in the yard ever since I was a little kid, but I never bothered to look up what they were. Turns out they're a species of Spittlebug called Prosapia bicincta. They belong to the family Cercopidae (Spittlebugs), so-called because the nymphs surround themselves with a protective frothy mass resembling spittle, which they produce from juices they suck from the plant (usually a kind of grass). Most members of this species have two orange lines crossing their wings. Their eyes are red.


References:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/517
http://www.floridanature.org/species.asp?species=Prosapia_bicincta
https://insects.tamu.edu/fieldguide/aimg86.html
http://eol.org/pages/1079470/overview
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/esa/jee/1965/00000058/00000002/art00025 (biology & control in bermuda grass)
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3493854?uid=3739896&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21102420982197 (biology on Florida pastures)
http://www.americaninsects.net/h/prosapia-bicincta.html

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