Meadow spittlebug

Philaenus spumarius

1. Identification

• Common name: Meadow spittlebug
• Scientific name: Philaenus spumarius L.
• Order: Hemiptera
• Family: Aphrophoridae

2. Pest description

• Adults: Small jumping hemipterans (≈ 5–7 mm); highly variable colouration (from yellow to dark brown); opaque wings with irregular patterns.
• Nymphs: Live wrapped in masses of white foam (“cuckoo spit”); soft body, greenish to yellowish.
• Eggs: Laid in cracks of stems and dry leaves of herbaceous plants.

3. Main hosts

• Highly polyphagous; feeds on hundreds of herbaceous and shrubby species.
• Frequent hosts: legumes, grasses, nettles, mallows, various spontaneous plants.
• In woody crops, it uses herbaceous plants of the undergrowth as primary hosts.

4. Symptoms and damage

• Feeding by sucking sap, usually with reduced direct impact.
• Presence of masses of foam on the herbaceous plants during spring.
• In woody crops, high importance as a vector of Xylella fastidiosa (a xylem bacterium that obstructs the conducting vessels, causing rapid decline and death of various plant species).
• Possible reduction in vigour in young plants at high densities.

5. Biological cycle

• Winter spent as an egg in dry herbaceous vegetation.
• Hatching in spring, with nymphs protected by foam.
• Nymphal development in 5 instars.
• Adults appear in late spring and summer.
• One generation per year, with the presence of adults possibly extending into autumn.

6. Monitoring

• Observation of masses of foam on herbaceous plants in spring.
• Sampling of nymphs in the undergrowth of the crops.
• Counting of adults by beating or sweeping.
• Reinforced monitoring in areas at risk of Xylella fastidiosa.

7. Management measures

• Cultural: Management of the herbaceous undergrowth; mechanical control of the vegetation before the nymphal peak; removal of preferred host plants.
• Biological: Conservation of natural enemies (generalist predators).
• Integrated protection: Regular monitoring; avoid operations that cause dispersal of adults; specific measures in areas with Xylella fastidiosa, including rigorous management of the host vegetation.

Bibliographic references

• EPPO Global Database – Philaenus spumarius.
• CABI Invasive Species Compendium – Philaenus spumarius.
• EFSA (2019). Biology and ecology of Philaenus spumarius.
• Cornara, D. et al. (2017). Vector role of Philaenus spumarius in Xylella epidemiology.