Description

The two-lined spittlebug (Prosapia bicincta), is a member of the order Hemiptera in the family Ischnorhinidae (formerly placed in Cercopidae). Adults are 8 mm to 12 mm in length. Identification of adults is relatively simple based on the forewings, each of which is black with two yellow to reddish-orange parallel lines across the surface at right angles to the body. The legs and head are reddish orange. The hindlegs have two thornlike spines. Eggs are orange in color. Immatures are wingless, less colorful versions of the adults. They secrete a bubbly, white foam (spittle) that encapsulates the body and is typically the only visible evidence of immatures. Adult two-lined spittlebugs lose the ability to excrete spittle following their final molt. The two-lined spittlebug is the only member of the genus recorded in Louisiana, but four additional members of the genus occur in other parts of the United States.

Life Cycle

The two-lined spittle bug has two generations each year in Louisiana and one generation annually further north. Adult two-lined spittlebugs typically live for three to four weeks during warm weather. Females deposit eggs on grasses near the ground during the second and third weeks of adult life. A female can lay up to 40 eggs during its lifetime. First-generation nymphs hatch during early spring from overwintering eggs deposited in sheltered areas by previous generation females. Nymphs produce spittle quickly after initiating feeding on host grasses. Once covered in spittle, nymphs spend 30 to 60 days feeding and living in the protective spittle ball they have created, often sharing the spittle with several siblings. Nymphs undergo five growth stages (instars). Adults emerge from the final molt and become more mobile and reproduce until the end of their lives. They are common in grassy lawns, agricultural and overgrown fields and a variety of woody plants that serve as adult hosts, especially hollies (Ilex spp.). Feeding is accomplished using piercing, sucking mouthparts. Slender stylets penetrate the host plants’ cuticle, inject salivary enzymes and suck out the slurry of partially digested plant tissue.

Pest Status and Control

Two-lined spittlebugs are common and widespread throughout eastern North America and have been introduced elsewhere. Widespread damage can occur but is not common in the insect’s native range. Two-lined spittlebugs are considered a minor pest in Louisiana, although they can be extremely abundant in favorable habitats. Two-lined spittlebugs cause plant damage by direct feeding and injecting toxins injected with saliva. The resulting damage is referred to as froghopper burn and is characterized by yellow patches and dead blades and stems.

By contrast, in Hawaii the two-lined spittlebug is an introduced, invasive species that has caused serious damage to pastures, in one case resulting in damage to 35,000 acres of Big Island cattle pasture. Spittlebug damage to pastures results in secondary invasion by non-native weeds, including pamakani, fireweed and wild blackberry.

Plant disease vectoring has not been documented in the species, but a different spittlebug, the meadow spittlebug (Philaenus spumarius), is an important vector of Pierce’s disease (Xylella fastidiosa) in Europe.

References

• Buss, E.A., and A.G. Dale. 2017. Insect pest management on turfgrass. ENY-300. Department of Entomology and Nematology, UF/IFAS Extension. (accessed 11 February 2025).
• Cornara, D., M. Marra, M. Morente, M. et al. 2020. Feeding behavior in relation to spittlebug transmission of Xylella fastidiosa. Journal of Pest Science 93: 1197–1213. (accessed 7 March 2025).
• Hamilton, K.G.A. 1977. Revision of the world species of Prosapia Fennah (Rhynchota: Homoptera: Cercopidae). Canadian Entomologist 109: 621-630.
• Khan, F.Z. A., S.V. Joseph., and W. Hudson. 2019. Two-Lined Spittlebug: biology and management in turfgrass. University of Georgia Extension Circular 1157. (accessed 4 February 2025).
• Latini A, C. Foxi, F. Borfecchia, A. Lentini, L. De Cecco, D. Iantosca, M. Serafini, U. Laneri, M. Citterio, A. Campiotti, G. Benelli, S. Mariani. 2019. Tracking the vector of Xylella fastidiosa: geo-statistical analysis of long-term field observations on host plants influencing the distribution of Phylaenus spumarius nymphs. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 26: 6503-6516. doi: 10.1007/s11356-018-3870-5. Epub 2019 Jan 9. PMID: 30627995.
• Overall, L.M. 2005. Incidence of Xylella fastidiosa in Oklahoma, a survey of potential insect vectors, and identification of potential plant reservoir hosts. Ph.D. Dissertation, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK. 165pp.
• Pass, B.C., and J.K. Reed. 1965. Biology and control of the spittlebug Prosapia bicincta in coastal Bermuda grass. Journal of Economic Entomology. 58: 275-278.
• Peck, D.C. 1998. Natural history of the spittlebug Prosapia nr. bicincta (Homoptera: Cercopidae) in association with dairy pastures of Costa Rica. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 91: 435-444.
• Thorne, M.S., G.K. Fukumoto., M. Wright., J. Mack., M. Oshiro., S. Wilson., and D. Oishi. 2018. Two-lined spittlebug (Prosapia bicincta (Say) in Hawaii. University of Hawaii - College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. Factsheet 11. (accessed 4 February 2025).
• Wilson, S., M. Thorne, M. Johnson, D. Peck, and M. Wright. 2024. Prosapia bicincta (Hemiptera: Cercopidae) abundance, plant associations, and impacts on groundcover in Hawaiʻi Island rangelands. Environmental Entomology 53: 870–880. (accessed 7 March 2025).

Adult two-lined spittlebug, Prosapia bicincta (Say), on leaf (Kansas Department of Agriculture, Bugwood.com).

Spittle nest of the meadow spittlebug, Philaenus spumarius (Hectonichus, Wikipedia, Creative Commons BY-SA 3.0).